For the first time in history, the House of Representatives voted to unseat a speaker.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has been removed as House speaker by a vote of the House of Representatives on a motion to vacate the chair brought by a member of his own party.
The unprecedented action plunges the House into what is certain to be a contentious speaker’s battle as it simultaneously battles the calendar to complete the appropriations process and continues its impeachment investigation into President Joe Biden.
The 216–210 vote was a significant—and ironic—victory for firebrand Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who rallied just seven Republicans to join him as he relied on Democrats to oust Mr. McCarthy.
One of Mr. Gaetz’s principal complaints against the speaker was that he had passed legislation with Democratic votes that a majority of Republicans opposed.
Mr. McCarthy, who won the gavel in January after 15 ballot rounds, had held the gavel for 9 months.
This is the first time a speaker has been removed through a motion to vacate. Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) resigned as speaker and from Congress in 2015 before such a motion could be brought up. The last time there was a vote on such a motion was in 1910, which was unsuccessful.
Ahead of the ouster, a move to table the motion to vacate failed by a vote of 208–218. Eleven Republicans voted against tabling the motion.
Mr. McCarthy said on CNBC on the morning of Oct. 3 that he would not make any concessions to the Democrats in order to keep the gavel.
Democrats joined the handful of Republicans to oust Mr. McCarthy as speaker as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said that House Democrat leadership would vote in favor of the motion to vacate.
“It is now the responsibility of the GOP members to end the House Republican Civil War,” Mr. Jeffries said in a statement. “Given their unwillingness to break from MAGA extremism in an authentic and comprehensive manner, House Democratic leadership will vote yes on the pending Republican Motion to Vacate the Chair.”
Under Mr. McCarthy’s tenure as speaker, the House passed legislation dealing with the debt ceiling, a deal he made with President Joe Biden; border security; American energy; and new IRS agents. Except for the debt ceiling bill, the bills have been dead on arrival in the Senate and have no chance of becoming law.
By Jackson Richman and Lawrence Wilson
