McCarthy Faces Ouster Threat For Averting U.S. Government Shutdown

Top US House Republican Kevin McCarthy has stated that he expected to survive a threat to his speakership after a hardline critic within his party called for his ouster.

Hardline Republican Representative Matt Gaetz stated that he would file a "motion to vacate," which calls for a vote to remove McCarthy as the speaker, following the passage of a stopgap government funding bill. I Photo: Speaker Kevin McCarthy Facebook

This followed the passage of a stopgap government funding bill that drew more support from Democrats than Republicans, as reported by David Morgan for Reuters.

Hardline Republican Representative Matt Gaetz informed several US media outlets that he would file a "motion to vacate," which calls for a vote to remove McCarthy as the speaker.

This move tests McCarthy's support in the House of Representatives, which his party controls by a narrow margin of 221-212. McCarthy stated on CBS, "I'll survive. This is personal with Gaetz."

Gaetz is one of about two dozen hardliners who forced McCarthy to endure 15 rounds of voting in January before he was elected speaker.

During those rounds, they squeezed out concessions, including a rule change that allows any House member to call for a vote to oust the speaker.

It remains unclear how much support McCarthy would have in such a vote, or whether any Democrats would back him. McCarthy had angered Democrats the previous month by launching an impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden.

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