(New York) Shaken in recent years by a series of destabilizing precedents, the political life of the United States experienced another historic day on Tuesday which highlighted its increasingly chaotic and dysfunctional nature.
Less than a year after his election to the presidency of the House of Representatives during a 15e round of voting – never seen before – Kevin McCarthy became the very first “speaker” to be dismissed from this position which placed him at the top of the hierarchy of the American Congress and second in the order of presidential succession after vice -President Kamala Harris.
After a meeting with his Republican colleagues, the California representative announced that he would not prolong his humiliation by running for his own succession.
“I will never abandon the American people, but that doesn’t mean I have to be speaker of the House,” he said at an evening news conference.
Speaking of the extremist Republicans who contributed to his downfall, he added: “They have no right to say they’re conservative because they’re angry and chaotic.” This is not the party I belong to. »
The House will not hold a vote to choose a new speaker until next week, while potential Republican candidates can come forward and campaign.
Contested from the start, Kevin McCarthy was the victim of the same forces that made his life difficult during his election to the presidency of the House last January.
It was also one of his concessions to the most radical members of the Republican group that caused his loss.
This concession allowed Florida Republican Representative Matt Gaetz, an ultraconservative troublemaker, to demand a vote on a motion to remove the Speaker of the House. The motion was adopted by 216 votes to 210 (seven representatives were absent and two seats are vacant). Eight Republicans voted with all Democrats to dethrone their leader. To keep his job, Kevin McCarthy could not afford to lose more than five Republican votes.
“It was personal”
“It’s in the best interest of this country to have a better Speaker of the House than Kevin McCarthy,” Matt Gaetz said after the vote. “Kevin McCarthy couldn’t keep his word. »
PHOTO KENT NISHIMURA, THE NEW YORK TIMES
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz speaking to the media after the vote Tuesday
Like several of his hard-right colleagues, the Florida representative notably criticized Kevin McCarthy for relying on Democratic votes to ensure the adoption of a temporary budget bill and thus avoid paralysis from the government last Saturday.
More moderate Republican representatives, however, sharply criticized Matt Gaetz, attributing his maneuver against Kevin McCarthy to an insatiable desire to attract media attention and donor money. During his press conference, Kevin McCarthy himself agreed with this criticism.
“You all know Matt Gaetz,” he said, speaking to reporters. “It was personal. It had nothing to do with spending. »
Other Republican representatives have expressed concern that the chaos caused by Matt Gaetz could end up helping Democrats regain a majority in the House in 2024.
One of his colleagues expressed his frustration by calling him an “asshole”.
“I prefer common sense to chaos,” New York Republican Rep. Anthony D’Esposito said on Fox News. “I think we should focus on governance rather than grand maneuvering, and the fact that we have an asshole holding us back and holding America back is a real problem. »
Donald Trump, who has two allies in Kevin McCarthy and Matt Gaetz, was surprised for his part by this fratricidal conflict which has raged within the Republican group in the House since its conquest of the majority in 2022.
“Why are Republicans always fighting among themselves, why aren’t they fighting the radical left Democrats who are destroying our country? the former president wrote in a post on Truth Social during a break in his civil fraud trial in New York and before the vote on the motion to impeach Kevin McCarthy.
Donald Trump, however, did not offer any comment after the vote which dethroned the man whose election he had favored last January by calling on the rebels to put an end to their revolt.
Paralyzed room
After the impeachment of Kevin McCarthy, Republicans and Democrats held separate meetings to address the question of the next Speaker of the House. The Democrats already have their candidate: New York Democratic Representative Hakeem Jeffries, minority leader.
PHOTO ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
Democrat Hakeem Jeffries, leader of the Democratic minority in the House of Representatives
The Republican choice will not be so easy. The names of five potential candidates were circulated Tuesday evening: Patrick McHenry (North Carolina), Steve Scalise (Louisiana), Tom Emmer (Minnesota), Tom Cole (Oklahoma) and Jim Jordan (Ohio). Of these, Scalise and Emmer are part of the Republican staff in the House, the first as majority leader, the second as whip.
Pending the election of Kevin McCarthy’s successor, Patrick McHenry will serve as interim speaker of the House. On the eve of Tuesday’s vote, he called on Democrats to help his Californian colleague stay in his post.
“I think that with him, we will have a much more functional Chamber than with anyone else,” he declared.
Democrats debated the issue Tuesday morning. They concluded that they could not save the skin of a Republican leader who made a pact with Donald Trump after the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, which turned his back on an agreement reached with Joe Biden last May on government spending and which gave the green light to an impeachment inquiry targeting the Democratic president.
“We encourage our Republican colleges who want to be more traditional to break away from extremism, dysfunction and chaos,” declared Hakeem Jeffries, the leader of the Democratic group, before the vote. “We are ready, willing and able to work with our Republican colleagues, but it is up to them to join us. »
The House will be paralyzed until a new speaker is elected. This paralysis is all the worse because the House of Representatives and the Senate have until November 17 to adopt the finance bills necessary for the functioning of the American government.