Far-Right G.O.P. Faction Throws House Into Chaos as McCarthy Is Ousted
Politics,Kevin McCarthy,US House,Republican Party,US Congress
The House on Tuesday voted to oust Kevin McCarthy from the speakership, a move without precedent in modern history that left the chamber without a leader and plunged it into chaos.
Democrats joined with a small group of hard-liners in Mr. McCarthy’s own party to strip the California Republican of the speaker’s gavel in a 216 to 210 vote. It was the culmination of a bitter power struggle between Mr. McCarthy and members of a far-right faction who tried to block his ascent to the speakership in January and have tormented him ever since, trying to stymie his efforts to keep the government funded and the nation from defaulting on its debt.
Before the vote, a surreal Republican-against-Republican debate played out on the House floor as members of the hard-right clutch of rebels railed against their own speaker and verbally sparred with Mr. McCarthy’s defenders. Democrats sat silently.
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