US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy impeached
(Baonghean.vn)- On October 3 local time, with 216 votes in favor and 210 votes against, the US House of Representatives voted to remove House Speaker Kevin McCarthy from office.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted amid internal turmoil among Republicans that plunged the US Congress into chaos, just days after averting a federal government shutdown just hours before a deadline.
After the above vote, Chairman of the House Finance Committee, Republican Congressman Patrick McHenry, born in 1975, representing the state of North Carolina, will temporarily assume the position of Acting Speaker of the House until the legislative body elects a new leader.
It was the first time in history that the House of Representatives had removed its leader, spurred by a relatively small group of right-wing Republicans led by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Md. Gaetz and other far-right Republicans were angry that McCarthy had relied on Democratic votes on Sept. 30 to pass a resolution to extend temporary government funding for 45 days, until Nov. 17.
Republicans control the House of Representatives by a slim 221-212 majority, and only five "rebels" could threaten McCarthy's power if all Democrats voted to remove him. That happened when eight Republicans joined 208 Democrats in voting to remove McCarthy from office.
Just hours later, US President Joe Biden urged the House of Representatives to quickly elect a new Speaker, after Mr. Kevin McCarthy was pushed by the Republican Party to be removed.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that given the urgent challenges facing the United States today, President Biden expressed hope that the House of Representatives will quickly elect a Speaker.
According to observers, the impeachment of Mr. McCarthy has thrown the Republican Party in the House into new turmoil. Earlier this year, Mr. McCarthy himself had to go through 15 rounds of voting over several days before receiving support from the majority of the House of Representatives in the party.
Currently, there is no clear successor to the Speaker position in the Republican ranks of the House of Representatives. Observers say that the absence of a leadership position is likely to lead to a deadlock in the US Congress in policy making, because in principle, the House of Representatives will not be able to pass any bills until a new speaker is elected and sworn in./.
