US Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) officially filed a motion late Monday to call for the removal of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a move likely to put the lower congressional chamber into chaos just days after a government shutdown was averted.
Gaetz has been threatening McCarthy with a "vote to vacate" his position since the deal to avert the government shutdown was made. Gaetz has accused MacCarthy of making a "secret side deal on Ukraine" with Democrats. Gaetz and dozens of other House Republicans have stated their opposition to further funding of Kiev by Washington and aid to Ukraine was ultimately cut from the stop-gap funding bill.
"I rise to give notice of my intent to raise a question of the privileges of the house," Gaetz said on the House floor while filing the motion. "[It is] resolved that the Office of Speaker of the House of Representatives is hereby declared to be vacant."
After filing the motion, Gaetz told reporters that he had enough Republican votes to oust McCarthy, unless he gets help from Democrats.
"I have enough Republicans where at this point next week one of two things will happen: Kevin McCarthy won't be the Speaker of the House or he'll be the Speaker of the House working at the pleasure of the Democrats," The firebrand representative said. "I'm at peace with either result because the American people deserve to know who governs them."
The House will have two days to consider the measure, though it could be taken up earlier. A simple majority will be needed to oust McCarthy.
Republicans have a slim nine-seat majority in the House. Typically, when House speakers are appointed, the minority party votes in unison against the nomination. If that holds for votes to vacate, Gaetz would only need a handful of Republicans to join him in removing McCarthy.
However, this is largely uncharted waters. There has only been one vote to vacate the speakership in 1910. In more recent times, former Speaker John A. Boehner was threatened with the prospect but it was never voted on and Boehner resigned soon after.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has already come out against Democrats coming to the aid of McCarthy, saying in an interview on US television on Sunday that her party doesn't "give up votes for free" and that she would "absolutely" vote to remove McCarthy.
Other Democrats may consider voting to keep McCarthy however, especially since he reached across the aisle to pass the spending bill. However, his move to open a formal impeachment inquiry against US President Joe Biden has also angered Democrats, making any potential vote difficult to predict.
Even if they decide against voting to keep McCarthy, Democrats could skip the vote or vote "present" which would lower the total number needed for a majority and make it easier for Republicans still loyal to McCarthy to defeat the measure without official support from the Democrats.
Gaetz told reporters that in the event a vote for a new speaker is held, he would vote for Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), among other candidates. Scalise is the number two Republican in the House and his name was floated as a potential alternative when McCarthy struggled to secure the speakership at the start of the year.
In fact, McCarthy only managed to secure the speakership after making various concessions and only after a 15th ballot was held in January 2023, a fact that Gaetz used to hint he isn't done with his attacks on McCarthy, even if this motion fails.
“It took Speaker McCarthy 15 votes to become the speaker,” Gaetz said. "Until I get to 14 or 15, I don’t think I’m being any more dilatory."
22 September 2023, 03:52 GMT
In order the secure the nomination and appease 20 Republican hardliners, McCarthy agreed to a series of procedural reforms, including that any lawmaker can call for a vote to vacate the position.
McCarthy remained defiant in a post on X (formerly Twitter) apparently responding to the motion.
McCarthy previously dared Gaetz and the other Republicans who oppose his speakership to try and remove him.
"If someone wants to remove because I want to be the adult in the room, go ahead and try," he told reporters on Saturday morning ahead of the late Saturday vote to pass the spending bill.
To avoid the vote entirely, McCarthy could hold a vote to table the resolution, which could then refer the motion to a committee favorable to him or kill it outright.
Gaetz told reporters he hopes "that someone emerges out of this historic process who has greater vision and greater clarity and greater trust and confidence and more integrity," than McCarthy for the speaker position.