It was never a matter of if—only when. Kevin McCarthy sealed his fate back in January, when he agreed to allow a single member of the House of Representatives to file a motion to vacate the speaker’s chair. That he did so in order to “win” the gavel on a 15th vote was fool’s gold.
With McCarthy never truly in charge, the House GOP majority has careened from crisis to crisis, bringing our country to the brink of an unprecedented default in June and our government to a near-shutdown last week.
Both times, McCarthy finally yielded to basic math and reality: Only votes where Democrats join Republicans can overcome the sizable GOP minority that instinctively opposes any major bill that can actually become law.
Two days after Congress reached a short-term funding agreement to keep the government open, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) followed through on his threat to use the tool McCarthy gave him in January. He filed a motion to vacate, and prevailed the next day in the first-ever removal of a sitting speaker of the House.
For now, Congress is paralyzed. The House cannot take action on ANY legislation until it elects a new speaker. It remains to be seen whether anyone can secure 218 Republican votes to become speaker—and then pass anything beyond message bills dead on arrival in the Senate for the remainder of this Congress.
Last Tuesday, immediately after the vote to remove McCarthy, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) became speaker pro tempore (temporary speaker), a position created after 9/11 for continuity of government purposes. McHenry promptly adjourned the House for a week.
The GOP says it plans to hold a candidate forum Tuesday evening and aims to elect a new speaker this week—or at least begin what could be a long process not unlike January’s marathon rounds of votes. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking. Remember: Congress must fund the government past Nov. 17 or we’ll again be staring down a shutdown—this time, less than a week before Thanksgiving.
We need you to keep weighing in on the terrible House GOP bill that would slash Title I funding by 80 percent, because they are still signaling an intent to bring it forward.
In solidarity,
Marc Egan
Government Relations Director
National Education Association
The House majority is pushing an education funding bill that would hurt students, eliminate nearly 248,000 educator jobs, and cut access to higher education.
Tell the Department of Labor you support the proposed expansion of overtime pay for workers making under $55,000 and that teachers should also receive this benefit.
CHEER: Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-CA) made history being sworn in for the seat vacated by the late Dianne Feinstein. Butler, a former labor leader, is the first LGBTQ person of color to serve in the Senate.
