In the 234-year history of the House of Representatives, its members had never voted to fire their leader in the middle of a term. They did so yesterday.
The toppling of Speaker Kevin McCarthy creates an uncertain future for Congress. It’s unclear who will be the next speaker, although it apparently won’t be McCarthy; he said last night that he would not run again. It’s also unclear what will happen with several major issues, including U.S. support for Ukraine and a potential government shutdown next month.
In today’s newsletter, we walk through two things that we do know the morning after McCarthy’s firing. For much more, you can read The Times’s main story on yesterday’s events, as well as this explanation of what happens next.
Lesson 1: House Republicans have fallen into chaos with little precedent.
McCarthy lost his job because eight House Republicans voted against him yesterday, mostly as punishment for his working with Democrats to pass a bill keeping the government open into next month. Those Republicans, led by Matt Gaetz of Florida, wanted to use a potential shutdown to insist on large spending cuts.
But that was never going to happen. Democrats control the Senate and the White House. Even many House Republicans don’t favor the cuts that the hard-right faction does. Nonetheless, a small Republican faction decided that a bill to keep the government open was a fireable offense for their leader.
“Think long and hard before you plunge us into chaos,” Tom Cole, an Oklahoma Republican and a McCarthy ally, told his House colleagues before the vote yesterday, “because that’s where we’re headed if we vacate the speakership.”
“Chaos is Speaker McCarthy,” Gaetz replied. “Chaos is somebody who we cannot trust with their word.”
McCarthy, speaking before the vote, said: “If you throw a speaker out that has 99 percent of their conference, that kept government open and paid the troops, I think we’re in a really bad place for how we’re going to run Congress.”
The unprecedented nature of a speaker’s midterm dismissal highlights the radicalism of parts of today’s Republican Party. It’s also a contrast to the unity of Democrats when they controlled the House under Speaker Nancy Pelosi in recent years.
Lesson 2: Democrats took a gamble by not saving McCarthy.
House Democrats could have helped keep McCarthy in the job. Instead, 208 Democrats voted unanimously against him. Combined with the eight breakaway Republicans, the Democrats caused McCarthy to lose the referendum that Gaetz called, 216 to 210.
McCarthy has certainly given Democrats reason to oppose him. He depended on their votes to pass a spending bill last week but barely gave them time to read the bill before calling for a vote — and then claimed on television, falsely, that Democrats were the ones who wanted a shutdown.
Perhaps most significantly, McCarthy has made excuses for extremism, including Donald Trump’s lies about the 2020 election and the violent rhetoric of a few House Republicans. Ilhan Omar, a progressive House Democrat from Minnesota, yesterday called McCarthy “a threat to our democracy.” Abigail Spanberger, a centrist from Virginia, said he had “excused the inexcusable time and time and time again.”
The spectacle of Republican infighting does offer some potential political advantages for the Democrats. From their perspective, as Carl Hulse, The Times’s chief Washington correspondent, told us, “a little chaos is good.” Voters may end up blaming Republicans for the current tumult. (Politico explains how infighting could hurt Republicans’ chances in 2024.)
Democrats also argue that it is not their job to rescue Republicans from internal discord. “It is now the responsibility of the G.O.P. members to end the House Republican Civil War,” Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic leader, wrote before yesterday’s vote.
Still, McCarthy’s downfall brings risks for Democrats.
He managed both to keep the government open last week and to raise the debt limit this past spring. He did so by finding compromise with Democrats, however unpleasant the process was, and by maintaining the support of most Republicans. His successor may not be able to do so, risking economic and political turmoil.
The war in Ukraine is one example of the stakes. U.S. aid will decline significantly unless Congress passes a new bill to help Ukraine fight Russia. The next speaker may be less willing to help Ukraine than McCarthy was.
“I think Democrats would benefit by a more functional House,” Laura Blessing of Georgetown University’s Government Affairs Institute told us. “They have a lot that they need to get done.”
For more
THE LATEST NEWS
Politics
International
Health
-
The manufacturers of 10 expensive medications agreed to negotiate with the U.S. government for lower prices for Medicare recipients.
-
Insulin resistance affects more than a third of Americans. Here are the signs to look for, such as feeling excessively tired or gaining weight.
Migration
-
Some newly arrived migrants in New York City have begun street vending, causing turf battles with more established sellers.
-
The U.S. detains thousands of undocumented immigrants so that they can testify against those accused of smuggling them across the border.
Other Big Stories
Opinions
People with disabilities have filed lawsuits to make businesses and public spaces more accessible. The Justice Department needs to lift the burden, Evelyn Clark, a lawyer who uses a wheelchair, writes.
The U.S. abused its power when it used its economic might to force Europe to break ties with Russia and China, Christopher Caldwell argues.
“Our language is dying”: People are fighting to save Gagauz, a Turkic tongue used in Moldova.
One bite: Dave Portnoy, the caustic founder of Barstool Sports, has become the most influential figure on America’s pizza scene.
Lives Lived: Ed Young wrote and illustrated dozens of children’s books, mesmerizing readers with intricate depictions of fairy tales, poetry and his own life story as a Chinese immigrant. He died at 91.
Fashion F.A.Q.: A reader asked Vanessa Friedman, our fashion critic, “Why do runway models always look miserable?” Vanessa replied:
“It’s awfully hard to maintain a believable expression of great joy when you are walking in front of hundreds, if not thousands, of strangers, all there to render their judgment on what you are wearing. When your shoes probably don’t fit, since they are samples, and you are concentrating very hard to avoid slipping or falling, and you are modeling chiffon in winter or leather in September, when it’s still 80 degrees, and you are partially blinded by the flashes of a zillion photographers.”
Read her full answer.
More on culture
-
The National Book Foundation announced the 25 finalists for this year’s National Book Awards. The winners will be named on Nov. 15.
-
Sean McGirr, an Irish designer, will take over from Sarah Burton as the new creative director of Alexander McQueen.
-
Mattel unveiled a Stevie Nicks Barbie with an outfit inspired by her look on the cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours.”