On October 3, 2023, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 216-210 to remove Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House — the first time in American history that a Speaker had been ousted by a vote of the chamber.
The motion was led by Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida, part of a faction of hardline conservatives who had clashed repeatedly with McCarthy over spending and his handling of the debt ceiling deal. Eight Republicans joined all Democrats in voting to remove him.
The Chaos That Followed
The House spent three weeks without a Speaker — unable to conduct almost any official business — before electing Mike Johnson of Louisiana to the position. Johnson was largely unknown nationally before his election.
What It Revealed
The episode exposed deep fractures within the Republican Party and the increasing difficulty of governing with a razor-thin majority. It became a global news story about the functioning — or dysfunction — of American democracy.
Florida was at the center of it: Gaetz is from Pensacola. The Sunshine State was in the middle of a historic moment.