Kevin McCarthy becomes first US House speaker in history to be ousted
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Washington: A faction of Republican hardliners in the US House of Representatives ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday intensifying internal conflicts within the party and plunging the Congress into further chaos shortly after it narrowly averted a government shutdown.
Led by Matt Gaetz, a group of Republican conservatives removed Speaker McCarthy making him the first person ever in 134 years to be ousted as Speaker of the US House of Representatives.
The ousting of McCarthy was orchestrated by a coalition of far-right conservatives, with the help of Democrats who were unable to secure concessions from the former speaker in exchange for their votes.
Despite McCarthy's majority support among Republican House members, his fate was sealed by a group of eight detractors, many of whom had previously tried to stop him from becoming the Speaker in January this year, according to the AP.
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"I ended up being the 55th speaker of the House- one of the greatest honours. I loved every minute. And the one thing I will tell you is doing the right thing isn't always easy, but it is necessary. I don't regret standing up for choosing governance over grievance", McCarthy was quoted as saying.
McCarthy backed a bill to fund the government running until November 17, preventing a possible shutdown, which irked some Republican members. His backing of the bill, however, did not include any of the spending cuts or border security changes demanded by his hardline colleagues.
The bill was approved by the Senate on a broad bipartisan basis and signed into law by Biden and is meant to give lawmakers more time to agree on a deal to fund the government through September 30, 2024.
Florida House member Matt Gaetz speaking to reporters after McCarthy's ouster said, “The reason Kevin McCarthy went down today is because nobody trusts Kevin McCarthy… Kevin McCarthy has made multiple contradictory promises, and when they all came due, he lost."
Gaetz is one of a group of about two dozen hardliners who forced McCarthy to endure a withering 15 rounds of voting in January before he was elected speaker.
