Speaker Impeached

<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h4>Speaker Impeached<&sol;h4>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">OpenLife Nigeria<&sol;a> <&sol;strong>reports that United States of America Congress  voted on Tuesday afternoon to  remove the Republican leader  and Speaker&comma; Kevin McCarthy from the chair&comma; just nine months after he was elected&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>This is the first time a Speaker would be removed from office in the United States&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The attempt was fouled in 2010&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Kevin McCarthy becomes the first leader in the history of the lower chamber of Congress to be removed from the position&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In a dramatic 216-210 vote on Tuesday&comma; the House endorsed a &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;motion to vacate” to in effect fire McCarthy from the speakership&period; Eight Republicans voted against their party leader and sided with 208 Democrats&comma; sealing his removal from the post&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The unprecedented vote sets the stage for an election to select a new speaker — though McCarthy has not ruled out putting forward his name to be reselected for the top job&period; The historic vote underscores the sharp divides in the Republican party and threatens to usher in a new era of dysfunction in Washington&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The House cannot carry out legislative business until a new speaker is elected&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;This is uncharted waters&comma;” said Jim Clyburn&comma; the Democratic congressman from South Carolina&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Nobody knows&period;” The speaker of the House is the most senior member of the lower chamber of Congress&comma; and the second in the presidential line of succession&comma; behind the vice-president&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The Republican revolt against McCarthy was led by Matt Gaetz&comma; the firebrand congressman from Florida who decided to move after the speaker struck a deal with Democrats to avert a government shutdown over the weekend&period; Republicans control the lower chamber of Congress by a razor-thin margin&comma; giving a small number of GOP rebels power in their battle against McCarthy&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Earlier on Tuesday&comma; Democratic leadership ruled out suggestions that they would help McCarthy keep power&comma; advising their members to &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;vote yes” to oust the speaker&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;It is now the responsibility of the GOP members to end the House Republican Civil War&comma;” Hakeem Jeffries&comma; the top House Democrat&comma; said in a letter to party colleagues&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The vote to remove McCarthy has laid bare the deepening splits within the Republican party&comma; with the divides threatening to make Congress’s lower chamber ungovernable&period; McCarthy was elected speaker on the 15th round of voting in January&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The House must select a new speaker before the chamber can carry out its legislative duties&period; Tuesday’s vote came just days after hardline Republican House members took the government to the brink of shutdown in an attempt to cut federal spending&comma; including aid for Ukraine’s war effort&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Gaetz was among Republicans angered by McCarthy’s deal with Democrats over the weekend&period; The deal led to a bipartisan vote to keep the government funded at current funding levels until mid-November&comma; when many Republicans had pushed for budget cuts&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Recommended News in-depthRepublican Party US &OpenCurlyQuote;It could backfire’&colon; Kevin McCarthy’s Biden impeachment gamble McCarthy defended the deal&comma; telling reporters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday morning&colon; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Keeping government open&comma; and paying our troops was the right decision&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;punchng&period;com&sol;"> I stand by that decision&period; At the end of the day&comma; if I have to lose my job over it&comma; so be it&period;” McCarthy said Gaetz was carrying out a personal vendetta stemming from a congressional ethics investigation into allegations that the Florida congressman engaged in sex trafficking&period;<&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The Department of Justice ended its own investigation into Gaetz earlier this year without charging him&period; Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Matt Gaetz had planned to do this from the very beginning&comma;” the speaker told CNBC before the House voted to dismiss him&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;He has got personal things in his life that he has challenges with&comma; that’s fine&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;