Matt Gaetz’s motion: Following the introduction of a motion “declaring the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives to be vacant” on the House floor Monday night by Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said the House will vote on whether he will continue in that position on Tuesday afternoon.
McCarthy told reporters Tuesday morning that he is confident he will win, but that he will be removed from office if five Republicans join all of the Democrats in voting against him.
Following his meeting with the Republican conference, he told reporters, “I’m confident I will hold on.”
He had a conversation with Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Tuesday morning, but when asked if he would need their support to keep his position as speaker, he responded, “No, I personally am not.”
McCarthy may not have the support of most Democrats. During a caucus meeting on Tuesday morning, Jeffries aired a segment from the speaker’s interview on “Face the Nation” on Sunday, during which he criticized Democrats for almost causing a government shutdown. In actuality, more Democrats than Republicans supported the legislation to extend government funding for an additional 45 days.
Democratic Representative Pramila Jayapal declared that McCarthy will receive a unified no vote from her party.
“We are following our leader, and we are not saving Kevin McCarthy,” she declared.
In an effort to kill Gaetz’s resolution, McCarthy might first make a motion to table it, often known as a motion to vacate the chair. However, Florida Republican Rep. Brian Mast said he anticipates a direct vote on the move at roughly 2:00 p.m.
McCarthy will continue to be the speaker if a motion to table Gaetz’s resolution is approved. If it is unsuccessful, a vote on the motion to release the chair would come next. McCarthy will be replaced as speaker if the resolution is approved by a majority of the in attendance members.
Gaetz, according to McCarthy, might make the motion to vacate several times.
If McCarthy is removed, a temporary speaker in charge of a new election would probably be chosen from a top-secret backup list. It’s unclear how much authority any interim speaker would have, but Republicans would probably work to give him or her more authority than Democrats would prefer.
Gaetz has continuously opposed McCarthy being speaker and was one among those who contributed to the process taking an all-time high of 15 vote rounds. McCarthy consented to a stipulation allowing a single member to move to remove the speaker in order to appease far-right Republicans. That business arrangement is now haunting him.
The Florida Republican, according to McCarthy, “is more interested in securing TV interviews.”
Leave a Reply