What's Next After McCarthy's Expulsion From House Speakership?
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Now that Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has been ousted as Speaker of the House, what happens next?
Key Details: There is currently no clear front-runner for the job, but Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) are two likely candidates. The House cannot consider bills or hold votes until the next speaker is chosen. Congressman Patrick McHenry (R-NC) is serving as acting House speaker in the interim.
Key Quote: “The conservative agenda was being paralyzed by speaker McCarthy. We haven’t even sent a subpoena to Hunter Biden. Our oversight was lackluster. Our spending priorities were misaligned. Our top-line budget would lead to more debt, more challenges. The best way to advance the conservative agenda is to move forward with a new speaker,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who led the push to remove McCarthy.
For Context: Anyone can be nominated for speaker, though historically the job has always been filled by a current member of the House. However, the Constitution does not require the speaker to be a current member of Congress.
How the Media Covered it: Some right-rated sources said Gaetz lacks a plan to balance the books and run the House's business more transparently. Some left-rated sources previewed the chaos that could occur because there is no apparent successor to McCarthy.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Kevin McCarthy’s sacking deepens the chaos in American government
Kevin mccarthy’s stint as speaker of America’s House of Representatives ended the way it had begun: in utterly humiliating fashion. Members of the lower chamber of Congress disposed of their leader for the first time in American history on October 3rd. Despite earning support from 210 of the 221 House Republicans, eight hardliners teamed up with 208 Democrats to fire Mr McCarthy. Shortly thereafter the former speaker announced he would not try to regain the title. The coming weeks are likely to be chaotic, and the results of this chapter of congressional dysfunction...
From the Center
McCarthy’s out, so what happens next?
Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif, became the first House speaker in U.S. history ousted from the position; but now, the biggest question is what happens next.
Without an elected House speaker, Congress will not be able to hold votes and bills cannot be brought to the floor. This means nothing can be done with border security, Ukraine funding or government spending until an election is held.
However, committees can still meet and congressional hearings can continue.
Following the vote, McCarthy announced he would not be running for speaker again. Now, no clear leader has...
From the Right
‘Someone Better’ Is Nobody
Without a plan, Matt Gaetz’s crusade to right the House is little more than empty moralizing.
When Representative Matt Gaetz set in motion the vote that ended Kevin McCarthy’s time as speaker of the House, he wrote his own name into history, too. One is tempted to look to real-life political assassinations for analogies. Was it madness, like John Hinckley? Or politics, like John Wilkes Booth?
McCarthy refused to take the bait of asking Democrats to help him overcome the tiny minority of Republicans who joined Gaetz’s rebellion. Republicans who stuck...
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