Earlier Wednesday, prominent House Reps. Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Jim Jordan (R-OH) both announced they would run for the position of speaker a day after eight MAGA Republicans joined the united minority Democrats to force McCarthy out of his position.
He secured the speakership in January after a long fight that ended in a deal with the ultra-conservative wing of the Republican party, whose members claim McCarthy violated the pact. They alleged he had a "secret deal" with President Joe Biden to pass legislation recently to avoid a government shutdown. McCarthy rejected the allegations and said the motion to vacate him was personal.
Independent Institute Center for Peace & Liberty President Ivan Eland said the tiny Republican rebellion against McCarthy in the almost equally divided House would be a lasting blow to the national credibility of their party.
"The Democrats win because they can claim unity in the midst of Republican chaos, both organizationally and policy wise by keeping the government open," Eland said. "At election time, it may fit into the Democratic narrative that the Democrats are the adults, and the chaotic Republicans are unable to govern."
Former President Donald Trump was also deeply involved in the maneuvers that toppled McCarthy from office, Eland observed.
"For the time being at least, the Republicans cannot control about 8 MAGA members. And it’s not ideological since it’s MAGA vs MAGA and maybe at Trump’s behest - certainly with his approval," he said.
Business will likely grind to a halt, Eland predicted, until a new speaker is approved.
"This could take a long time, especially if McCarthy doesn’t run again, as he asserts," Eland said. "He could still be drafted, if they can’t reach agreement on someone else."
Former Pentagon analyst Winslow Wheeler recalled that McCarthy as well as his Democratic opponents in the House had both waged fierce partisan political warfare with each other.
"Not only do the Dems personally detest McCarthy, they relish the self-imposed chaos the Republicans are experiencing, and they are tired of being double crossed by him and his ultra partisan swipes. His non-charismatic personality makes it both easy and painless to undermine him," he said.
None of these behaviors are going to change unless and until both sides see it in their self-interest to co-operate, Wheeler said.
"That is to say, it helps fundraising and shows off well in internal one-party polls of the Democratic and Republican base - making it safe to not be 'primaried,'" Wheeler said.
Francis Buckley, a law professor at George Mason University, predicted Scalise would probably become the next speaker and would be the long-term beneficiary of McCarthy's fall.
The entire procedure had delivered "a big black eye" for the Republican Party, Buckley added.
Former hedge fund manager and political commentator Charles Ortel believes established leaders in the Democratic Party as well as the Republicans would lose from McCarthy's defeat.
"The entrenched status quo, with Deep State con artists in both parties, lose. And all of us who expect Congress and our bloated government to run finances and conduct operations responsibly win," Ortel told Sputnik.