Gaetz tries to push out McCarthy after deal averts shutdown
Follow the latest updates as spending bill is signed by Joe Biden, temporarily preventing shutdown
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Matt Gaetz will offer a motion to vacate the chair in an attempt to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the far-right Florida Republican told CNN on Sunday morning.
This comes after MAGA Republicans were outraged by Mr McCarthy striking a deal with Democrats on Saturday to avert a government shutdown.
“I do intend to file a motion to vacate against Speaker McCarthy this week. I think we need to rip off the band-aid. I think we need to move on with new leadership that can be trustworthy,” Mr Gaetz told CNN.
Meanwhile, House Republicans seem eager to exact revenge against Mr Gaetz.
News outlets reported on Sunday that Republicans in the lower chamber are looking towards the conclusion of a House Ethics Committee probe into the Republican congressman from Florida in the hopes that the probe’s findings could warrant (or excuse) his expulsion from the chamber.
Donald Trump called for Rep Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) to be put in jail for pulling a fire alarm in the US Capitol complex on Saturday.
The former president bizarrely claimed that Mr Bowman’s behaviour was worse than that of the rioters who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Gaetz could be expelled from House over ethics case amid face-off with McCarthy
Gaetz seeks to oust Speaker McCarthy after shutdown deal with Dems
AOC says she’d consider backing Gaetz push to oust McCarthy as House speaker’s future in question
Ukraine aid left out of US government funding package, raising questions about future support
AOC declares victory: ‘People will get paychecks and MTG threw a tantrum on the way out. Win-win'
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez declared victory on Saturday, writing: “Here’s what went down: we just won a clean 45 day gov extension, stripped GOP’s earlier 30% cuts to Social Security admin etc, staved off last minute anti-immigrant hijinks, and averted shutdown (for now). People will get paychecks and MTG threw a tantrum on the way out. Win-win”
‘I’m pleased Kevin McCarthy finally backed down'
The measure must be passed by the Senate before it is signed into law by the president and officially halts the prospect of a shutdown. But the Senate is likely to do so without incident, with funding for Ukraine’s defence being the only sticking point (and one that will likely be addressed in the coming days).
Jim McGovern, a Democrat from Massachusetts, offered a simple commentary as he left the floor following the vote: “We won.”
“I’m pleased Kevin McCarthy finally backed down and put a bill on the floor that would win overwhelming Democratic support,” added Brendan Boyle, another Democrat, from Pennsylvania.
CR likely to pass senate as no 3 Senate Republican posts in support of yes vote
‘If somebody wants to make a motion against me, bring it'
Matt Gaetz, the leader of the far-right GOP contingent opposed to Mr McCarthy’s efforts to keep the government open with short-term measures, spoke to reporters on the steps of the Capitol just before the vote was to take place. He and other conservatives such as Tim Burchett, also present, seemed to acknowledge that GOP leadership would have the votes to pass it and remained pessimistic about the future of Mr McCarthy’s speakership.
When asked by The Independent if there was any path forward to working with the speaker going forward, Mr Gaetz demurred from the overt threats to unseat Mr McCarthy, but left the possibility wide open.
“I’ve said that whether or not Kevin McCarthy faces a motion to vacate is entirely within his control, because all he had to do was comply with the agreement that he made with us in January,” Mr Gaetz responded. He then issued a warning: “Putting this bill on the floor and passing it with Democrats would be such an obvious blatant and clear violation of that. We would have to deal with it.”
Mr McCarthy later responded in his own comment to reporters outside the chamber.
“If somebody wants to make a motion against me, bring it,” he said. “There has to be an adult in the room.”
Republicans now have 45 days to pass longer-term budget measures
Republicans now have 45 days to pass longer-term budget measures to operate the government for the 2024 year. Those budgets have already hit their own set of roadblocks in the House, and are destined to run up against a Democratic-controlled Senate and White House that will likely demand changes.
All in all, the chamber could very well face another shutdown deadline this year unless Congress, specifically House Republicans, are able to pass legislation that can actually win support from the rest of the legislative branch.
Democrat Jamaal Bowman accused of pulling fire alarm to delay House vote
A New York congressman is under fire after CCTV footage appeared to show him activating a House office building’s internal alarm system in an effort to delay voting on a spending bill on Saturday.
The congressman, Representative Jamaal Bowman, is in his second term representing the Empire State’s 14th district, which includes northern Bronx, southern Westchester County, and Yonkers.
Alarm triggered as Democrats sought delay on House vote
After an emergency alarm was set off in the Cannon House Office Building, where Mr Bowman’s office sits on the building’s third floor, reports emerged that a man matching Mr Bowman’s description had been seen pulling the alarm near a second-floor exit.
The alarm was triggered as Democrats on the House floor were seeking to slow down consideration of a spending bill which House Speaker Kevin McCarthy had called up for debate less than an hour earlier.
Democrats had expressed concerns that the bill, which extends government funding for 45 days, might contain objectionable provisions and had demanded more time to review it before voting.
Dem House leadership says McCarthy asked them ‘to put out the fire that he and his party started’
On the brink of a federal shutdown, the House passes a 45-day funding plan and sends it to Senate
On the brink of a federal government shutdown, the House on Saturday swiftly approved a 45-day funding bill to keep federal agencies open as Speaker Kevin McCarthy dropped demands for steep spending cuts and relied on Democratic votes for passage to send the package to the Senate.
The new approach would leave behind aid to Ukraine, a White House priority opposed by a growing number of GOP lawmakers, but the plan would increase federal disaster assistance by $16 billion, meeting President Joe Biden’s full request. The package was approved 335-91, with most Republicans and almost all Democrats supporting.
With hours to go before the midnight deadline to fund the government, the Senate was also in for a rare weekend session and prepared to act next.
“We’re going to do our job,” McCarthy said before the House vote. “We’re going to be adults in the room. And we’re going to keep government open.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments