McCarthy ousted as Speaker of the House

Republican Representatives have already begun their campaigns to replace McCarthy.
The United States entered uncharted territory last week when Congress voted to oust Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy. After 15 rounds of voting in January, McCarthy made a deal with the right flank, allowing just one House member to propose a resolution to remove the Speaker. McCarthy’s short stint as Speaker was decisively ended by a 216 – 210 vote, which was led by Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz.
Gaetz spearheaded the vote after McCarthy made a deal with the Democrats to pass a short-term spending bill to prevent the government from shutting down. McCarthy’s allies tried to persuade Gaetz to calm down by claiming that McCarthy’s removal could plunge the House into chaos. However, Gaetz responded, “Chaos is Speaker McCarthy. Chaos is somebody who we cannot trust with their word.”
Before the House vote, there was speculation that House Democrats would save McCarthy by voting “present” instead of voting to vacate him from office. In an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” McCarthy said, “They haven’t asked for anything. I’m not going to provide anything.” Though the Democrats could have saved McCarthy’s speakership, he never asked for their support but suggested they should help him.
McCarthy secretly chose Rep. Patrick McHenry as the interim Speaker, though he currently has little power except to oversee the election of a new speaker. The House and McHenry now have to hold a vote for a new speaker, though it is not clear who in the House is capable of earning the majority vote. McCarthy has already indicated he will not run for Speaker again, along with Majority Whip Tom Emmer. House members claim that a candidate forum may be held as early as Tuesday, Oct. 10, with the possibility of a House vote on Wednesday.
Most recently, Reps. Jim Jordan and Steve Scalise have announced their campaigns as Speaker. Scalise, the No. 2 Republican, emphasizes his second command experience while laying out his candidacy. Scalise said, “I have a proven track record of bringing together the diverse array of viewpoints within our conference to build consensus where others thought it impossible.” Rep. Jordan of Ohio is the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee and an ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump. He had a meeting with the 25 Texas Republicans who were conducting interviews with contenders. “I think I can unite the conservative base and the party and the conference; that’s why I’m running,” Jordan stated on his way to lunch with the Texans.
Oklahoma Rep. Kevin Hern is also considering entering his name into the running for Speaker. Hern attended the Texas Republican delegation lunch to see where his support may be. He claims that he never discussed running and that becoming the Speaker was not his “main issue” when running for Congress. “When I came here, my issue was, ‘come make a difference,’ and if this is part of making a difference, and people want me to run, then I’ll certainly look at it,” Hern said.
The chaos this has caused for the House is occurring amidst a mid-November deadline to keep the government funded. The stopgap bill will fund the government until Nov. 17, when Congress will need to pass another bill to avoid a government shutdown.