Cornyn chastises House ouster of McCarthy as Speaker

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 216-210 to strip U.S. Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) of the Speakership, just days after U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) filed a resolution to declare the office vacant. At least one Texas Republican on Capital Hill expressed criticism of the ouster, which marked the first time a Speaker has ever been removed by vote.

“A handful House members just want to blow up the institution and themselves in the process,” U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) said in an October 3rd post on X. “Sad.”

According to a report from The Messenger, eight Republicans, including Gaetz, joined all House Democrats to remove the gavel from McCarthy, who ascended to the Speakership earlier this year after the GOP achieved a slim majority in the 2022 midterm elections.

The Hill reported that the lawmakers who voted “yea” said McCarthy failed to fulfill the promises he made to the House Republicans. Consequently, the House doesn’t have a leader until a vote can be held for a new speaker, with McCarthy being able to seek his old job.

Huffpost reported that the vote sets the House on an uncharted course, and that the now-former Speaker didn’t defend himself in the preceding debate between the Gaetz-led group and McCarthy’s supporters. While Gaetz’s resolution succeeded, the national outlet reported, the Florida lawmaker said the fight is “not over.”