Kevin McCarthy speaks to reporters in the U.S. Capitol after the House of Representatives passed a stopgap government funding bill to avert an immediate government shutdown, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 30, 2023. /Reuters
Kevin McCarthy will not make another run to become U.S. House speaker after he was ousted in an unprecedented move amid Republican infighting, several U.S. media outlets reported Tuesday night, citing Republican lawmakers.
The 216-210 vote came nearly nine months after McCarthy won the position in a dramatic 15-round floor fight, marking the first time in the U.S. history that a House speaker has been voted out of office in the middle of a term.
McCarthy's chief rival, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, orchestrated the rare vote on the obscure "motion to vacate" and pushed ahead swiftly into a dramatic afternoon roll call, days after he accused McCarthy of relying on Democratic votes to pass a "clean" stopgap funding bill to avert a federal government shutdown.
McCarthy is expected to give a news conference around 7:30 p.m. ET.