Current:Home > StocksRep. Matt Gaetz files resolution to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House-InfoLens
Rep. Matt Gaetz files resolution to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House
View Date:2024-12-23 16:55:09
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz filed a resolution late Monday to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker, setting up a likely showdown vote in the House in the days ahead.
The far-right Republican from Florida has for months threatened to use the procedural tool — called a motion to vacate — to try to strip McCarthy of his office. Those threats escalated over the weekend after McCarthy relied on Democrats to provide the necessary votes to fund the government.
In an earlier speech on the House floor, Gaetz demanded McCarthy disclose the details of a supposed deal the speaker made with the White House to bring forward legislation to help fund the war in Ukraine during funding negotiations.
“It is becoming increasingly clear who the speaker of the House already works for and it’s not the Republican Conference,” Gaetz said in his speech, hours before he filed the resolution.
Brushing off the threat, McCarthy told reporters earlier at the Capitol, “I’m focused on doing the work that has to be done.” He added that there was “no side deal” on Ukraine, noting he has not spoken to Biden.
A motion to vacate is a rare and strong procedural tool that has only been used twice in the past century against Republican speakers. But in recent years, conservatives have wielded the motion as a weapon against their leaders.
In January, McCarthy, hoping to appease some on the hard right like Gaetz as he fought to gain their vote for speaker, agreed to give as few as five Republican members the ability to initiate a vote to remove him. But when that wasn’t good enough for his critics, he agreed to reduce that threshold to one — the system that historically has been the norm.
That decision has set McCarthy up for the ultimate test of his leadership as he will now have to rely on Democrats to withhold their support for any effort to force his removal.
The motion Gaetz introduced is a privileged resolution, a designation that gives it priority over other measures. The next step is for House leaders to schedule a vote on the resolution within two legislative days.
However, there are several procedural motions that members of either party could introduce to slow down or stop the process altogether. If those tactics were to fail, and his resolution came to the floor for a vote, it would take a simple majority of the House — 218 votes, when no seats are vacant — to remove McCarthy from his post.
veryGood! (68)
Related
- Reese Witherspoon's Daughter Ava Phillippe Introduces Adorable New Family Member
- S Club 7 Shares Tearful Update on Reunion Tour After Paul Cattermole’s Death
- Ohio’s Struggling Manufacturing Sector Finds Clean Energy Clientele
- Two active-duty Marines plead guilty to Jan. 6 Capitol riot charges
- Steelers' Mike Tomlin shuts down Jayden Daniels Lamar comparison: 'That's Mr. Jackson'
- Olympic medalist Tori Bowie died in childbirth. What to know about maternal mortality, eclampsia and other labor complications.
- Michigan County Embraces Giant Wind Farms, Bucking a Trend
- Climate Change Puts U.S. Economy and Lives at Risk, and Costs Are Rising, Federal Agencies Warn
- Gerry Faust, the former head football coach at Notre Dame, has died at 89
- Take a Bite Out of The Real Housewives of New York City Reboot's Drama-Filled First Trailer
Ranking
- GM recalls 460k cars for rear wheel lock-up: Affected models include Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac
- Author Aubrey Gordon Wants To Debunk Myths About Fat People
- Short on community health workers, a county trains teens as youth ambassadors
- Get Budge-Proof, Natural-Looking Eyebrows With This 44% Off Deal From It Cosmetics
- Groups seek a new hearing on a Mississippi mail-in ballot lawsuit
- China's COVID vaccines: Do the jabs do the job?
- Global Warming Is Messing with the Jet Stream. That Means More Extreme Weather.
- Thousands of Reddit forums are going dark this week. Here's why.
Recommendation
-
Outgoing North Carolina governor grants 2 pardons, 6 commutations
-
Kouri Richins, Utah author accused of killing husband, called desperate, greedy by sister-in-law in court
-
With less access to paid leave, rural workers face hard choices about health, family
-
Short on community health workers, a county trains teens as youth ambassadors
-
Taylor Swift Politely Corrects Security’s Etiquette at Travis Kelce’s Chiefs Game
-
Solar Acquisition Paying Off for Powertool Giant Hilti
-
Saudi Arabia’s Solar Ambitions Still Far Off, Even With New Polysilicon Plant
-
A Colorado library will reopen after traces of meth were found in the building