On Tuesday, October 3rd 2023, Republican Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy was ousted from his position, the first House Speaker to ever be so in the history of the United States. This move was spurred by Floridian Republican representative Matt Gaetz, who condemned McCarthy after the latter negotiated a government funding extension with Democrats. 

The last time a notable motion to vacate occurred was in 1910, when a resolution was called for then-House Speaker Joseph Cannon, a Republican from Illinois, to resign. The resolution was ultimately brought to a floor vote, and failed by a margin of 37 votes. This makes Kevin McCarthy the first ever sitting Speaker of the House to be removed from office. 

Denoted a ‘Reagan Republican,’ Kevin McCarthy oftentimes did not vote with the majority in Republican affairs. What led to the Republican being voted out of his position in the House was a vote that diverged from his colleagues in the Republican party. The vote was for a funding bill championed by Democrats, preventing the federal government closure. Many Republicans in the House voted against this bill under the conviction that this legislation over allocated spending to this issue. This vote; in disagreement with his Republican colleagues, prompted Representative Matt Gaetz to put forth a motion to remove McCarthy. Earlier this week the motion passed with eight Republican representatives in agreement, along with the entirety of Democrats in the House.