(Photo courtesy of WSJ). “The Speakers platform in the House of Representative.”

Michael Makiej

Connector Contributor

It has now been several weeks since former United States Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy was ousted from his position on Capitol Hill. This unprecedented and historic moment for the House of Representatives has left Americans without a speaker once again. In the weeks since that vote, the House has been struggling to find a viable alternative. 

The impetus to remove former Speaker McCarthy began several weeks ago over a battle to pass a continuing resolution (CR) bill. In a last-minute move to prevent an imminent government shutdown, McCarthy circumvented his own party to pass a “clean” resolution with the Democrats. Many hardliners within the GOP saw the move as a betrayal of their interests, and the final straw in what was already a tenuous and strained relationship with McCarthy.  

In response, Florida Representative Matt Gaetz used his newly granted power from his deal with McCarthy to initiate an unprecedented “motion to vacate.” Back in January, this measure was implemented by McCarthy himself as a concession to right-flank Republicans to narrowly secure his speakership. The rule change to this latest session of Congress allows for only a single vote to initiate the motion.  

Now with McCarthy stating that he will not be running again for speaker, it is unclear who in the field will take his place. UMass Lowell’s Associate Professor of Political Science, Dr. John Cluverius, said, “On the whole, what has happened is a failure of anyone who is an alternative to actually have a coalition ready to go.” 

Part of the difficulty in establishing a GOP coalition, such as this, is the slim majority of Republicans in the House. With 217 votes necessary to secure a speakership, and only a nine-vote lead over the in-House Democrats, it would take just five Republicans to throttle any presumptive nomination, assuming solidarity among the Democrats. Given the national spotlight and the chance to have a major impact on the party’s future, this power is certainly being used to full effect. Regarding this emerging dynamic, Dr. Cluverius said, “There are a lot of opportunities [for Republicans] by not electing a speaker right now to both obstruct a [Biden] agenda because nothing is really getting passed and also to get attention because people are seen as pivotal votes and pivotal members of this coalition.” 

Efforts were made by establishment Republicans to elect other McCarthy allies to the position, including Representative Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, who was quickly named speaker pro tempore to fill in while a real speaker was being chosen. Several votes have also been called for different candidates, including Representative Steve Scalese of Louisiana and Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio. However, given the slim GOP majority, each vote thus far failed. 

In many ways, this situation mirrors that of the initial speaker vote back in January 2023. The only difference for Republicans is that now it is the more hardline Republicans who are in the driver’s seat, using the lack of a clear establishment replacement to their advantage. 

This, by no means, guarantees a victory for the Freedom Caucus, however. To further complicate matters, as of this past Friday, one of the major presumptive nominees, Jordan, has rescinded his candidacy for speaker. Given that Jordan was both an avid McCarthy supporter while also being a Freedom Caucus leader, it leaves the GOP with even fewer viable options. As another government shutdown looms behind the battle for the speakership, the nation is waiting to see how this conflict will be resolved.