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Historic Ouster: House Votes to Remove Kevin McCarthy as Speaker

Published

1 year ago

October 3, 2023

Lawmakers in the House of Representatives voted to remove Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, from his leadership position. This historic decision marks the first time in the chamber’s history that a sitting Speaker has been ousted by a House vote.

The dramatic vote occurred with a final tally of 216 in favor of McCarthy’s ouster and 210 against, with eight Republicans crossing party lines to join every present Democrat in their decision to vacate the Speaker’s chair.

The motion to vacate was introduced by Representative Matt Gaetz, a Republican from Florida, who accused McCarthy of reneging on promises made during his bid to become Speaker earlier this year.

Before the decisive vote, tensions ran high during a heated hour of debate, where 11 Republicans broke ranks with their party to advance the motion. McCarthy’s supporters dominated the microphones on the GOP side of the chamber. This forced Gatez to make his argument and case against McCarthy from the opposing seat where Democrats normally sit.

Gaetz didn’t mince words, declaring, “Chaos is Speaker McCarthy. Chaos is somebody who we cannot trust with their word.” McCarthy’s allies responded with anger, accusing Gaetz and his colleagues of using the motion for fundraising purposes, prompting chants of “shame” on the House GOP side.

The exchange escalated as Gaetz defended his actions, stating, “When it comes to how those raise money, I take no lecture on asking patriotic Americans to weigh in and contribute to this fight from those who would grovel and bend knee for the lobbyists and special interests who own our leadership.”

Throughout this political turmoil, Democrats remained firm in their stance, showing no inclination to support McCarthy. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York, expressed their position before the vote, emphasizing that while Democrats were ready to find bipartisan common ground, their Republican colleagues had not demonstrated the same willingness. He referenced the drawn-out process it took for McCarthy to secure the Speaker’s role in January.

The root of this Republican upheaval stems from McCarthy’s recent decision to pass a short-term spending bill, known as a continuing resolution (CR), to keep the government funded for 45 days.

This move aimed to avoid a government shutdown and grant lawmakers more time to negotiate 12 separate spending bills. However, it drew backlash from 90 House Republicans who deemed it a continuation of the previous Democratic-led Congress’s policies.

According to reports from Fox News, McCarthy’s attempts to propose a CR with spending cuts were thwarted by some of the same conservative members now opposed to the clean extension. This frustration with a small faction of rebels simmered among House Republicans throughout the ordeal.

Furthermore, Main Street Caucus Vice Chair Stephanie Bice, a Republican from Oklahoma, voiced her discontent, saying, “This is a distraction from what we should be focusing on, which is the appropriations process. This is all about Matt Gaetz. It’s not about Kevin McCarthy. Matt Gaetz is using the American people as pawns in his narcissistic game of charades.”

The removal of Speaker Kevin McCarthy signals a historic moment in the House of Representatives, leaving the Republican Party facing a significant leadership challenge and raising questions about the future direction of the GOP.

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EXCLUSIVE: Former Trump appointee explains an ‘America First Strategy’ in the ME

Published

7 months ago

May 15, 2024

Steve Postal

Photo: Israeli Government

The author interviewed Ellie Cohanim, one of the authors of the new book: “An America First Approach to US National Security.” Ellie is the former U.S. Deputy Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism under the Trump administration. She is currently a Senior Fellow with the Independent Women’s Forum focusing on Iran, Israel, and global antisemitism, and is a national security contributor for the Christian Broadcasting Network. In 2021, Ellie launched and hosted for Jewish News Syndicate 30 plus episodes of the show “Global Perspectives with Ellie Cohanim.” Ellie spent 15 years in media and NGO management before serving in the public sector. How would you define an “America First” strategy in the Middle East?

Cohanim: An America First strategy in the Middle East would seek to advance American national security interests in that region, while maintaining our status as THE global superpower. To do that, the US would ensure that our principal allies in the region, countries like Saudi Arabia and Israel, are economically and militarily strong, and that our adversaries in the region are deterred.

Postal: How has the United States’ standing in the Middle East differed between the Trump and Biden administrations?

Cohanim: Under President Trump, for four years we had peace, stability and prosperity in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region. Under President Biden, in just three tumultuous years there has been war in the region, which holds the potential for becoming a regional conflict and even a nuclear confrontation. Meanwhile, the US’ status in the region and the world has diminished due to Biden’s disastrous mishandling of the Afghanistan withdrawal, his emboldening of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and his weak response to Iranian attacks on our personnel and assets in the region.

It was my honor to join @SaraCarterDC on #TheSaraCarterShow: https://t.co/LooiFkxx34

— Ellie Cohanim (@EllieCohanim) March 12, 2024

Postal: Do you think the United States and Israel are/were in a stronger position to deter Iran’s nuclear and territorial ambitions in Biden or Trump’s administration?

Cohanim: America’s position of strength has not changed under either administration vis-à-vis the Islamic Republic of Iran. What has changed is our Iran policy. Under President Trump’s administration, the US contained and constrained Tehran. Trump applied a “Maximum Pressure” sanctions campaign which left the Iranian Regime with only $4 billion in accessible foreign currency reserves by the end of his term, giving the Iranians less cash and less ability to fund their terror proxies and their nuclear program, and Trump eliminated Qassem Soleimani. While all President Biden needed to do was to continue implementing such successful policies, his administration instead did the exact opposite. Under the Biden administration, Israel, our leading ally in the region, was attacked for the first time directly from Iranian soil. This was an unprecedented escalatory attack by the Iranian regime, and could only happen under the Biden administration.

Postal: In your chapter of the book, you discuss the weakening of US relations with Israel and Saudi Arabia under the Biden administration. How has the Biden administration affected the likelihood of future normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and deals between Israel and other Muslim countries (i.e., new Abraham Accords)?

Cohanim: The good news is that the Abraham Accords have withstood the test of multiple Hamas provocations against Israel, and now the current war. Despite numerous claims from the Biden administration regarding “successful” efforts to normalize ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel, I do not think that the Biden administration will be able to clinch such a deal. In the Middle East, people have a long memory. Saudi Arabia’s de-facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has not forgotten President Biden’s snub when he first came into office, and Biden’s incredibly poorly advised behavior towards the Crown Prince when he made his first visit to the Kingdom as president. The last thing the Crown Prince wants is to hand Biden his first foreign policy success with a Rose Garden peace deal ceremony. So, I do not believe President Biden can broker Saudi/Israeli normalization.

However, I am also convinced that it is a matter of “when” and not “if” such a peace deal will happen between those two countries, as it serves both of their interests to make such a deal. The Saudis understand better than anyone that it is the Islamic Republic of Iran that threatens the Kingdom’s security and stability, not Israel.

Postal: What do you think of the Biden administration’s latest statements withholding arms to Israel?

Cohanim: President Biden will go down in history for his abject moral failure in not standing by Israel while she fights a five-front war. Biden has shown his despicable personality for trying to keep his anti-Israel arms embargo concealed until he could first deliver a speech on the Holocaust. Biden’s behavior is despicable on so many levels.

Ultimately, Biden is betraying the American people. He came into office presenting himself as a “centrist Democrat,” but has proven repeatedly to be beholden to the radical, extremist, pro-Hamas wing of his party.

Postal: How does the Biden administration’s support of a Palestinian state differ from the Trump administration’s support of a Palestinian state under its Peace to Prosperity framework?

Cohanim: The Biden administration stated that they will “unilaterally recognize” a Palestinian state. What the borders of that state are and who would lead it, nobody knows.

The Trump administration’s “Peace to Prosperity” was a detailed plan that was premised on the realities on the ground in Israel. The plan required that the Palestinians reach benchmarks proving a real desire to live in peace with their Israeli neighbors. It included over $50 billion in investment in the region, which would have been a road to prosperity for all. Perhaps most significantly, the Palestinian state envisioned under the Trump plan would have been demilitarized, the wisdom of which could not be more clear following the October 7 massacre and attack.

The author would like to thank Ellie Cohanim for participating in this interview.