The leader of the United States House of Representatives, Republican Kevin McCarthy, will see his dismissal put to a vote after failing to block that procedure in the previous vote on Tuesday.
The motion to stop the resolution presented against him on Monday by fellow conservative Matt Gaetz was rejected by 218 votes, so it will continue in that chamber, since it reached the necessary simple majority.
Another 208 lawmakers, an insufficient number, spoke in favor of blocking that process and keeping McCarthy in that position assumed in January after 15 attempts.
Gaetz is part of the “Freedom Caucus,” the wing of the Republican Party most sympathetic to former President Donald Trump (2017-2021), who already tried to block his election in January.
“It is said that we are going to cause chaos, but the one who is the chaos is McCarthy, someone whose word we cannot trust,” Gaetz said this Tuesday in the debate that preceded the impeachment vote.
His motion sought to recall McCarthy, among other points, for working with Democrats to avoid a temporary shutdown of the Government, something that was achieved on Saturday “in extremis” with the – agreed to an extension extending the Executive’s funding for critical issues for 45 days..
Activating the motion of censure requires only that it be promoted by a legislator, whether Democrat or Republican, and that this vote reach a simple majority of 218 votes.
This is a unique method that has been used twice in the last century in the United States, both without success: against fellow Republicans Joseph Cannon in 1910 and John Boehner in 2015.
On that last occasion it was not put to a vote, but its presentation was considered a factor in Boehner’s resignation months later.
The rules of the House of Representatives establish that the president of the House must draw up a list of his possible substitutes if his position is declared vacant. This list will only be made public if this situation is met, and the chosen person will act on an interim basis until a new leader is elected.
