First In History: The Speaker Of The US House Of Representatives Was Delegated From His Position, His Substitute May Be Discussed Next Week

Illustration of Capitol Hill. (Wikimedia Commons/Architect of the Capitol)

JAKARTA - United States House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was demoted in Tuesday's vote, with Republican members choosing to close forces with the Democratic Party, days after Congress managed to prevent a temporary closure of government services.

In Tuesday's vote, eight Republicans, a party from McCarthy, along with 208 Democratic Party members voted to fire McCarthy. That marks the first time in history, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives has been removed.

The House of Representatives is unlikely to have a leader for at least a week, as some Republicans say they plan to meet on October 10 to discuss a possible replacement for McCarthy, with a vote to elect a new chairman planned to be held on October 11.

Yesterday's political move was led by Matt Gaetz, critic and party partner McCarthy, a far-right Republican from Florida.

"Kevin McCarthy is a swampy creature. He rose to power by collecting special interest money and redistributing the money in exchange for help. We are overcoming this fever now," Gaetz told reporters after the vote.

This is the latest high-level drama moment in a year, when Republican-controlled House of Representatives brought Washington to the brink of default US debt of 31.4 trillion, as well as a temporary closure of government services.

Republicans control the House of Representatives with a narrow majority of 221-212, meaning they should not lose more than five votes if any of its members join the Democratic Party's camp in the vote.

McCarthy's dismissal as chairman of parliament has stopped legislative activities in the House of Representatives, with the deadline for closing another government coming soon on November 17 if Congress does not extend funding.

Meanwhile, the White House said it hoped the DPR would move quickly to elect a substitute parliamentary chairman, who took second place in leadership after the Vice President.

The vote put Congress in unmeasured condition, as they seek to renew its agricultural and nutritional subsidy programs, pass draft government funding laws and consider further aid to Ukraine.

Likewise, it is not clear who will replace McCarthy in the leadership seat. However, his party mate, Patrick McHenry, was appointed as interim official.

McCarthy himself has repeatedly angered the Democratic Party in recent weeks, including by launching an impeachment investigation against President Biden.

On Saturday, he gave the Democratic Party little time to read the draft temporary spending law, to prevent the closure of the government he needed to be passed by their voices.

The Democratic Party could have saved McCarthy, but after considering it, they said they would not help Republicans resolve their internal problems.

A number of Republican figures such as Steve Scallise and Tom Emmer may be candidates, although no one has publicly expressed interest.

In a debate in the House of Representatives, Gaetz and some of his allies criticized McCarthy for relying on Democratic votes to provide temporary funding to prevent the closure of some governments.

"We need a speaker who will fight for something, whatever, besides remaining a speaker," said Gaetz's party partner Bob Good.

Another Republican Nancy Mace told reporters she chose to remove McCarthy from the chair for violating her promise to increase access to contraceptives, as well as support the draft law she wrote on rape equipment.

"I have made an agreement with Kevin McCarthy, with the chairman, that he has not kept his promise to help women in this country," Mace criticized. "We did nothing for them," he quipped.

On the other hand, McCarthy supporters, including some of the most vocal conservative MPs, said McCarthy had succeeded in limiting spending and advancing other conservative priorities despite the Democratic Party's control of the White House and the Senate.

"Think carefully before you plunge us into chaos," said Republican Tom Cole.