Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s tumultuous tenure as speaker of the House will go down as the third-shortest in history, ending Tuesday evening when House members voted to vacate the chair. Here’s a look back at a few key moments of the California Republican’s House reign.
Nov. 8, 2022: Republicans expecting a “red wave” to deliver double-digit majorities see disappointing election results that require days of waiting before the final races are called. In the end, there was a net change of nine seats. While they won the majority, Republicans could not afford to lose more than five of their own members on votes if Democrats were united in the opposite direction. Many of those gains also came in districts in New York and California that had backed Joe Biden over Donald Trump in 2020, making the majority more vulnerable in 2024.
Jan. 7: McCarthy, who had been minority leader in the previous Congress, is elected speaker at 12:34 a.m. on the 15th ballot, after four days of protracted voting and negotiations within the House Republican Conference to get over the top. McCarthy ultimately gets 216 votes to Democrat Hakeem Jeffries’ 212, with six Republicans voting “present” to lower the tally needed to win. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., was among those who never voted for McCarthy, using earlier ballots to support Trump and Reps. Andy Biggs of Kentucky, Byron Donalds of Florida, Kevin Hern of Oklahoma and Jim Jordan of Ohio. One concession McCarthy made during the debate was a rule change allowing a single member to make a motion to oust the speaker, a privilege that had to come from the direction of a caucus or conference when Democrats controlled the chamber.
