Democrats not to back McCarthy in 'motion to vacate the chair'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
3 Oct 2023 23:27

US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy faces an ousting vote at 2:00 pm local time as Democrats announce they will not support him.

US Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is surrounded by police and press on the way to the chamber, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023. (AP)

"Given their unwillingness to break from MAGA [Trump's "Make America Great Again" movement] extremism in an authentic and comprehensive manner, House Democratic leadership will vote yes on the pending Republican motion to vacate the chair," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a letter discussing the "motion to vacate the chair" put forward by hardline Republican lawmaker Matt Gaetz against US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

While McCarthy stated that he is "confident he'll hold on," the Speaker, following Jefferies' announcement, risks losing his position as his survival chances dwindled.

Jefferies had encouraged Democrats to move McCarthy aside, while Gaetz believed he had five Republicans ready to vote against McCarthy which would be enough to oust him in the absence of Democrat intervention to attempt to keep him.

The vote has been scheduled for around 2:00 p.m. local time. It is significant to note that several members of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, which constitute a major thorn in McCarthy's side, voiced their opposition to removing him in a rare show of support.

South Carolina's Ralph Norman said, "I have been profoundly disappointed in several elements of Speaker McCarthy's leadership, but now is not the time [to oust him]."

Leading hardline Republican says will move to oust McCarthy

Top Republican Kevin McCarthy said earlier on Sunday that he expects to fend off a challenge to his speakership after a leading hardline Republican indicated that he would move to oust him for striking a deal with Democrats to avert a US government shutdown without the spending cuts demanded by the right-wing caucus.

"I do intend to file a motion to vacate Speaker McCarthy this week," Congressman Matt Gaetz told CNN. "I think we need to rip off the Band-Aid."

"I'll survive", McCarthy told CBS. "This is personal with Gaetz."

Gaetz is a leading figure within the House Freedom Caucus – a small group of hardline Republican legislators who had brought the government to the brink of shutdown with their refusal to adopt fresh federal funding without deep spending cuts.

The group was furious when McCarthy struck a stopgap deal with Democrats late Saturday to keep the government open for a further 45 days at current spending levels.

"I think we need to move on with new leadership that can be trustworthy," Gaetz told CNN but said it was unclear that the group could actually remove the speaker, especially after McCarthy turned to Democrats to pass the bipartisan bill.

He pointed out that "the only way Kevin McCarthy is speaker of the House at the end of this coming week is if Democrats bail him out."

"Go ahead and try," McCarthy urged on Saturday, addressing his opponents. "You know what? If I have to risk my job for standing up for the American public, I will do that."