This just in: “House Speaker McCarthy Fails Test Vote, Now Faces Real Motion to End His Power” Kevin McCarthy inched perilously closer Tuesday to losing his grip on power, as Democrats joined with GOP rebels on the House floor voting against an attempt to save the California Republican’s speakership from doom. Democrats unanimously voted against a procedural motion that would have blocked an effort to oust McCarthy as speaker of the House, declining to help a GOP leader who they distrust and have repeatedly criticized for catering to “MAGA extremists.”...

Those pushing to strip Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) of the speaker's gavel prevailed over a last-ditch effort to head off Rep. Matt Gaetz's (R-FL) motion to vacate (MTV) the chair on Tuesday afternoon when a motion to table Gaetz's MTV failed 208-218. Eleven House Republicans joined all House Democrats present in opposition to tabling Gaetz's motion in order to move the motion to vacate the chair forward. Brought by Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), the motion to table — if it had been successful — would have ended Gaetz's current crusade against...

Kevin McCarthy convened a session of Congress on Tuesday, where he was faced with a motion for him to vacate his chair. The motion was brought on Monday by Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz. The vote was to table the vote, after which a vote on the motion would be undertaken. Gaetz stood and repeated his motion to vacate. Rep Tom Cole from Oklahoma rose to offer a motion to table that motion. The 15 minute vote saw 208 Republicans vote in favor of McCarthy's leadership, 11 against. All Democrats were...

Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., told Newsmax on Tuesday that he doesn't "buy the argument" that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is "working with the Democrats" when his opponents will be voting with Democrats to oust him. The House will vote Tuesday on a leadership challenge to McCarthy by a fellow Republican that could plunge Congress into chaos. Republican lawmakers said the chamber will vote later in the day on a motion by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., a McCarthy antagonist, that could potentially remove McCarthy from his post. If successful, it...

Newt Gingrich, a longtime Republican Party elder and former Speaker of the House, is calling on the House GOP to expel Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) from their conference over his efforts to team up with House Democrats to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). In a column for the Washington Post, Gingrich minced no words, leading with the assertion that Gaetz “is an anti-Republican who has become actively destructive to the conservative movement.” “Some behavior crosses the line — and when it does, there has to be consequences,” argued Gingrich. He...

Much of the coverage of today's vote to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) has focused on what concessions McCarthy might give Democrats to bail him out of the mess he finds himself in. Little consideration has been paid, however, to what risks Democrats might take in backing an unprincipled and unserious Republican in pursuing a personal vendetta against McCarthy. What will follow a vote to oust McCarthy? Nobody has any idea. Who will be the next speaker? Unknown and unknowable. Will that speaker allow an up or down...

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) on Tuesday called on House Republicans to expel Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and defeat his motion to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from his post. In a scathing op-ed published in The Washington Post on Tuesday, Gingrich attacked the Florida Republican as “anti-Republican” and said Gaetz was engaging in “childish behavior” and “has become actively destructive to the conservative movement.” “Gaetz’s motion to remove McCarthy should be swiftly defeated, and then he should be expelled from the House Republican Conference.

A showdown is unfolding Tuesday to determine House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s fate as leader of the chamber's Republican majority. Hard-line Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida is leading the charge against McCarthy. He introduced a so-called motion to vacate late Monday after criticizing how McCarthy has handled spending and budget issues since Republicans retook majority control of the chamber and claiming McCarthy can't be trusted.

Ahead of a soon-to-be-held House vote over whether to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, New Jersey Democrats are signaling that they have little interest in bailing the beleaguered Republican out. “I think that McCarthy has to figure out how to survive,” Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing) said. “It’s his to figure out. It’s their mess, their civil war.” Watson Coleman guaranteed that she’d vote against McCarthy – “I have no reason to save him,” she said. Other New Jersey Democrats were more circumspect, but all said they were deeply unhappy...

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House is scheduled to vote this afternoon on whether an effort to remove Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his top role should move forward. The vast majority of Republicans are expected to oppose the effort, while Democrats who want a member of their own party as speaker are likely to support it. But its success will depend on how many GOP hard-liners, led by Florida U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, will be willing to vote with Democrats to sink McCarthy’s speakership. None of the nine Republicans in Georgia’s...