ARAB AND WORLD

Wed 04 Oct 2023 9:34 am - Jerusalem Time

Historical precedent: US House of Representatives dismisses its Speaker, Kevin McCarthy

In a historical precedent that has never occurred since the founding of the United States, the US House of Representatives voted to dismiss its Republican Speaker, Kevin McCarthy (from California).


The Council voted by a majority of 216 representatives, including all Democratic members of the Council, and six Republican members, compared to 210 representatives, all from the Republican Party, who voted to oppose McCarthy's impeachment.


Meanwhile, Patrick McHenry (from North Carolina) was appointed interim President of the Council, until another candidate from the Republican Party is chosen. The position of the Speaker of the House of Representatives comes third at the top of the American ruling political pyramid, after the President and Vice President.


The action came after Republican Representative Matthew Gates (from Florida), who represents the far-right faction of the party, on Monday submitted a memorandum “declaring the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives vacant.”


A day after McCarthy relied on Democratic votes to keep the government funded for at least 45 days, Representative Gaetz, who submitted the memo, said Sunday that he would not back down from his resolve.


“I think we need to move forward with new leadership that can be trustworthy,” Gaetz said on CNN, adding, “Look, the one thing everyone has in common is that no one trusts (Council Speaker) Kevin McCarthy.”


It is noteworthy that Representative Gaetz had managed to secure a group of about 20 representatives who forced McCarthy to go through 15 rounds of voting last January before he was elected Speaker of the House, during which they obtained concessions, including changes to the rules to allow any member of the House of Representatives to call. To vote to remove the Speaker of the Council, which is exactly what they did.


According to experts, had it not been for this concession, McCarthy may not have been able to secure his position in the first place after 15 rounds of voting at the beginning of Congress’ work last January.


Former Representative Mark Meadows, a Republican from North Carolina, in 2015 took the measure against then-House Speaker John Boehner, also a Republican, but Boehner resigned before the vote was called.


On Saturday, McCarthy's adoption of a bipartisan agreement to avoid a US government shutdown led to a Republican rebellion in Florida.


The Washington Post believes that the Democrats played a major role in expelling McCarthy, explaining that they actually considered voting with a majority to help McCarthy retain his position, but in the end they decided not to do so, and every Democrat present voted against McCarthy.


For those who voted against McCarthy, the newspaper explained that it was a strange alliance that included eight far-right Republicans and all the Democrats in the House of Representatives present.

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Historical precedent: US House of Representatives dismisses its Speaker, Kevin McCarthy

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