How did Kentucky’s representatives vote in House Speaker McCarthy’s ouster?
Kentucky Republicans voted together against a motion to remove Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker on Tuesday, with even the rebellious Thomas Massie moving to keep the California Republican.
Even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell indicated he was pulling for McCarthy earlier in the day.
But the commonwealth’s delegation — along with the majority of Republican members — was outnumbered by a united Democratic Party caucus, which aligned with eight Republicans to seal McCarthy’s fate in a dramatic end to his tenure.
“Republicans would not have the majority today if it wasn’t for Speaker Kevin McCarthy,” Lexington Rep. Andy Barr told Fox News as the vote unfolded on the House floor. “The sponsor of the motion to vacate is the one working with the Democrats.”
Barr is referring to Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who triggered the motion to discharge McCarthy after accusing him of dishonesty and a betrayal of conservative principles in working with Democrats to craft a temporary spending deal that avoided a government shutdown over the weekend.
Northern Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, who was involved in prior attempts to remove a GOP leader, stood with McCarthy during this bout.
“This chamber has been run better, more conservatively, and more transparently under Mr. McCarthy than any other Speaker that I have served under,” Massie, who McCarthy tapped to sit on the powerful Rules Committee, argued on the House floor.
He said the prospect of replacing McCarthy could force the GOP majority through a fight that “could get worse.” But that’s precisely what Republicans now face as they scramble to find a replacement.
Democratic Rep. Morgan McGarvey of Louisville was the only member of the Kentucky delegation to vote to oust McCarthy. Harboring their own distrust of McCarthy and angered by his approval of an impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden, the Democratic caucus decided it would not provide McCarthy any votes to retain power.
“It’s now the responsibility of the GOP members to end the House Republican Civil War,” said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Republicans are now huddling to figure out a path forward and draft potential successors to McCarthy, who lasted not even nine months in the position.
McCarthy, who would mount another run for the position, is the first speaker to be forcibly removed by a House vote. It took him 15 votes to first secure the speakership back in January.
This story was originally published October 3, 2023 at 7:05 PM with the headline "How did Kentucky’s representatives vote in House Speaker McCarthy’s ouster?."
