Updates with changes throughout
The US House of Representatives has voted to remove Kevin McCarthy (R-California) as speaker after a chaotic nine months on the job, plunging the chamber into another fight over its leadership.
The House voted 216-210 for a "motion to vacate" its speaker, leaving the House effectively paralyzed until someone can secure a majority of votes from members present and voting. On 3-7 January, the chamber went through 15 rounds of ballots before McCarthy won the role of speaker, which he secured through a deal with far-right Republicans that allowed any single member to call a vote for his removal.
McCarthy's ouster — triggered by the vote of just eight Republicans and a united Democratic caucus — is likely to affect negotiations to keep the government funded after 17 November and offer additional military aid to Ukraine. McCarthy had ruled out reaching a deal with Democrats, which decided to vote in favor of his removal because of an "unwillingness to break from MAGA extremism" in an authentic way.
"It is now the responsibility of the GOP members to end the House Republican Civil War," House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) said.
The leadership dispute comes after weeks of chaos in the House, including a pivotal moment on 30 September when McCarthy relied heavily on Democrats last week to avoid a government shutdown. US representative Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) filed the motion to remove McCarthy, partly because of what he said was a "secret side deal" McCarthy made with President Joe Biden related to funding for Ukraine.
"It is becoming increasingly clear who the speaker of the House already works for, and it's not the Republican conference," Gaetz said on 2 October.
McCarthy had been defiant during the leadership challenge, essentially daring Republicans to find someone who is able to do a better job leading their divided caucus. McCarthy said he had the support of 99pc of his caucus and successfully passed a bill that avoided a costly and disruptive government shutdown.
The leadership fight comes as the US Congress gears up for another funding fight — and the possibility of a government shutdown as early as 18 November — once the spending bill passed last week expires. Republicans have sought to include sweeping energy policy revisions to their spending bills, which Democrats have attempted to strip out.
