U.S. House Votes to Oust Speaker McCarthy

October 5, 2023 | Washington, D.C.

by Eagle Forum Executive Director, Tabitha Walter

On Tuesday, for the first time in U.S. History, the House of Representatives ousted the Speaker of the House. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) instigated the “motion to vacate the chair” to depose Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) because the Speaker repeatedly broke his promises to conservatives. Eight Republicans joined all the Democrats to strip McCarthy of his position. Over 90 percent of House Republicans, including most of the House Freedom Caucus (HFC), voted in favor of keeping McCarthy as Speaker. (Note: Rep. Gaetz is not a member of the HFC). While the frustrations with McCarthy are real, the questions remain whether this action was prudent and timely and whether conservatives will benefit from the vote to remove the Speaker.

Promises Broken

In January, to secure his post as Speaker, McCarthy promised conservatives that he would ensure the spending bills would be passed individually, members would have 72 hours to read bills before votes, and he would fight for spending cuts by passing these bills on time. Every promise was broken with Saturday’s continuing resolution (CR) vote. On Saturday, Rep. McCarthy forced a vote on a “clean” CR to keep the government open for an additional 45 days to give Congress additional time to finish the 12 appropriations (spending) bills.

Continuing Resolution

Earlier this summer, when the House began its five-week recess, the HFC sent a letter to the Speaker outlining what any Continuing Resolution must contain to win their votes.  Inclusion of H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act, spending cuts to pre-covid levels, stopping the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and Department of Justice (DOJ) from targeting innocent Americans, ending the “woke” policies in the military, and ensuring “no blank checks” for more Ukraine funding were on their list. Eagle Forum supported these principles and encouraged House Leadership to adopt them.

In September, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) and other HFC members worked to craft a CR that cut spending and included the border bill. McCarthy did bring this bill to the floor, but it was voted down by a handful of conservatives who opposed any continuing resolution.  Frustration began to grow among many Republicans as a small handful of their colleagues torpedoed this compromise approach. In light of that failure and to avoid a government shutdown, McCarthy brought a “clean” CR to the floor on Saturday and forced an immediate vote. Many Democrats (and most Republicans) in the House and Senate held their breath and voted for this stop-gap measure. The one positive aspect of this CR is that it contained no funding for Ukraine; funding that is a priority for most Democrats and splits Republicans. Many conservatives were not opposed to a temporary government shutdown if it resulted in reductions in spending and adoption of border security measures.

Next Steps

We should encourage Republicans to work together to elect the most conservative Speaker possible to advance common-sense policies such as protecting our children and military, fiscal restraint, and border security. The sad truth is the HFC is not the majority in the GOP conference. We need to elect more Representatives who will fight for conservative principles. We need to educate and inform all Members of Congress about the issues that are important to families and taxpayers. And we need to encourage the Senate to begin acting on the spending bills already passed by the House of Representatives.

But there is more we can do. We learned that over the contentious weekend, a group of conservative lawmakers met for two hours to pray for our nation and each other. We need to do the same. We need to pray for healing, unity in purpose, wisdom, and courage for our elected officials.