Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) unveiled his next line of action after he was unceremoniously ousted as Speaker of the House on Tuesday.
McCarthy was voted out of office after the House voted 216-210 to adopt Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R-FL) motion to remove the California lawmaker from the office of House speaker. Gaetz and seven other House Republicans voted with House Democrats to oust McCarthy from office.
House Republicans who voted with House Democrats to oust McCarthy include Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Ken Buck (R-CO), Tim Burchett (R-TN), Eli Crane (R-AZ), Bob Good (R-VA), Nancy Mace (R-SC) and Matt Rosendale (R-MT).
Following the House vote to remove him from office, McCarthy held a press conference outlining his next course of action.
“I believe I can continue to fight, maybe in a different manner,” McCarthy told a packed Capitol room outside his former office. “I will not run for Speaker again, I’ll have the conference pick somebody else. You know you need 218 for the rule, 218 to move forward. And I will never give up on the American people. That doesn’t mean I have to be speaker to do what I have to do for the American people. There a lot of things I could do for the American people.”
Mace, one of the House Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy, accused the California lawmaker of failing to keep his promise.
“You make a promise you should keep it,’ Mace told reporters outside the Capitol. As a fiscal conservative I am angry. As a woman I am deeply frustrated,” Mace said. “It’s not ideological. It’s about having a leader in our nation who will tell the truth, who you can trust. ‘I am looking for a speaker who will tell the truth.”
Mace also sent out several social media posts accusing the former speaker of not keeping to his word.
Today I voted for the Motion to Vacate and remove the Speaker.
This isn’t about left vs right.
This isn’t about ideology.
This is about trust and keeping your word.
This is about making Congress do it’s job.
(1/7)— Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) October 3, 2023
“Today I voted for the Motion to Vacate and remove the Speaker. This isn’t about left vs right. This isn’t about ideology. This is about trust and keeping your word. This is about making Congress do it’s job,” Mace wrote on X.
McCarthy, however, maintains that he has kept all of his words. The former speaker said he called Mace’s chief of staff who assured him that he has kept his words.
