Politics
Posted by Charlie Kirk Staff - 10.03.23

Kevin McCarthy Ousted As Speaker After Gaetz Motion

Kevin McCarthy Ousted As Speaker After Gaetz Motion

Politics
Posted by Charlie Kirk Staff - 10.03.23

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has been ousted as Speaker of the House in a historic first for the country after Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and seven other GOP members voted with all Democrats to vacate the seat.

The final vote was 216 to 210.

During a floor speech on Monday prior to Tuesday’s vote, Gaetz — who filed the motion to vacate — claimed that the last straw for him was a “secret deal” made between McCarthy and President Joe Biden (D) to continue providing funding for Ukraine in its ongoing war against Russian invaders.

Here’s a partial transcript:

What was the secret side deal on Ukraine? House Democrats and President Biden have said that as Speaker McCarthy was asking Republicans to vote on a continuing resolution so as to avoid having to take the Senate’s Ukraine money, the Speaker of the House was actually cutting a side deal to bring Ukraine legislation to this floor with President Biden and House Democrats.

So let me get this straight, to extend Joe Biden’s spending and Joe Biden’s policy priorities, the Speaker of the House gave away to Joe Biden the money for Ukraine that Joe Biden wanted. It is going to be difficult for my Republican friends to keep calling President Biden feeble while he continues to take Speaker McCarthy’s lunch money in every negotiation.

The Speaker of the House has responded to these reports of a secret side deal on money for Ukraine, opaquely stating that he still wants to fund Ukraine and our border. I have a few replies to this statement.

First, the Speaker’s statement confirms the existence of a secret deal. And I have talked to members of our own leadership who have said they didn’t even know that Speaker McCrthy was negotiating a secret side deal outside of our conference, outside his own leadership, for the sake of Ukraine. Second, Ukraine has lost the support of a majority of the majority. The last time there was a freestanding Ukraine vote on this floor, it was last week, 101 Republicans voted for it, and 117 Republicans voted against it. According to the Hastert rule which Speaker McCarthy agreed to in January, he can not allow Democrats to roll a majority of the majority, certainly on something as consequential as Ukraine.

So for all the crocodile tears about what may happen later this week about a motion to vacate, working with the Democrats is a yellow brick road that has been paved by Speaker McCarthy! Whether it was the debt limit deal, the C.R., or the secret deal with Ukraine. Third, this is swampy log rolling, the American people deserve single-subject bills. I get that a lot of people might disagree with my perspectives on the border, or on Ukraine, but can we at least agree that no matter how we feel about Ukraine, of the Southern border, they each deserve the dignity of their own consideration and not be rolled together where they might pass where each individually wouldn’t. This is what we’re trying to get away from, this is the spirit of the January agreement that we made with the Speaker

No more lashing these disparate issues together so the American people’s interests are subjugated here on the floor of the House.

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