Nays. The ayes and nays are requested. Those favoring a vote by the ayes and nays shall rise. A sufficient number risen, the ayes and nays are ordered. Pursuant to clause 3 of rule 20, the chair directs the clerk to conduct the vote by a call of the roll. The clerk will call the roll alphabetically by surname. The house will be in order. The clerk may call the roll. Adams . Yes. Aye. Aderholt . No. Nay. Aguilar . Aye. Yea. Alford . No. Nay. Allen . No. Nay. Allred . Aye. Yea. Emmaday . No. Nay. Armstrong . No. No. Arrington . No. Nay. O ochenclaus . Yes. Yea. Babbin . No. Nay. Bacon . No. Nay. Baird . No. Nay. Balderson . No. Nay. Ballent . Yes. Yea. Banks . Banks . Barr . No. Nay. Barragan . Yes. Yes. Barragan . Yea. Bean of florida . No. Nay. Beatty . Yes. Yea. Bentz . No. Nay. Berra . Yes. Yea. Birdman . No. Nay. Beyer . Yea. Yea. Bice . No. Nay. Biggs . Aye. Yea. Bilaracas . No. Nay. Bishop of georgia . Yes. Yea. Bishop of North Carolina . Yes. Yea. No. Nay. Bloomhour . Nay. Blunt, rochester . Yea. Yea. Boebert . No for now. Nay. Bonamici . Yes. Yea. Bost . No. Nay. Bowman . Yes. Yea. B boyle of pennsylvania . Yea. Yea. Rakine . No. Nay. Brown . Yes. Yea. Brownlee . Yes. Yea. Buchanan . No. Nay. Buck . Aye. Yea. Bouchon . No. Nay. Businski . No. Burchett . Yea. Burgess . No. Nay. Burleson . No. Nay. Bush . Bush . Calvert . No. Nay. Cammic . Cammic . Caravel . Yes. Yea. Carvajal . Yes. Yea. Cardenas . Yes. Yea. Kerry . No. Nay. Carl . No. Nay. Carson . Aye. Yea. Carter of georgia . No. Nay. Carter of louisiana . Yes. Yea. Carter of texas . Carter of texas . Cartwright . Yes. Yea. Qasr . Yes. Yea. Case . Yes. Yea. Caston. Yes. Yea. Castor of florida . Aye. Yea. Castro of texas . Yes. Yea. Chavez . No. Nay. Mccormick . Yes. Yea. Chu . Aye. Yea. Siscomani . No. Nay. Clark of massachusetts . Aye. Yea. Clark of new york . Yes. Yea. Cleaver . Yes. Yea. Kline . No. Nay. Cloud . No. Nay. Clyburn . Yes. Yea. Clyde . Negative. Nay. Cohen . Yes. Yea. Cole . No. Nay. Collins . No. Nay. Comer . No. Nay. Connelly . Yea. Yea. Correia . Yes. Yea. Costa . Aye. Yea. Courtney . Aye. Yea. Craig . Yes. Yea. Crane . Yes. Yea. Crawford . No. Nay. Crenshaw . No. Nay. Crockett . Yes. Yea. Ceo . Aye. Yea. Cuellar . Yes. Yea. Curtis . No. Nay. Davis of kansas . Aye. Yea. Davidson . No. Nay. Davis of illinois . Yes. Yea. Davis of North Carolina . Aye. Yea. Dean of pennsylvania . Aye. Yea. Diget . Yes. Yea. Dela cruz . No. Nay. Delauro . Yes. Yea. Delbene . Yes. Yea. Deluzio . Yes. Yea. Deso desonnier . Yes. Yea. Dejole . No. Nay. Des desposito . No. Nay. Diazbalart . No. Nay. Dingell . Aye. Yea. Doggett . Yes. Yea. Donalds . No. Nay. Duarte . No. No, nay. Duncan . No. Nay. Dunn of florida . No. Nay. Edwards . No. Nay. Elsing . No. Nay. Emmerer . No. Nay. Escobar . Yes. Yeah. Eshoo . Aye. . Estes . Nay. Nay. Evans . Yes. Yea. Ezell . No. Nay. Fallon . Nay. Nay. Fin stra . No. Nay. Ferguson . No. No. Finstad . No. Nay. Fishbok . No. Nay. Fitzgerald . No. Nay. Fitzpatrick . No. Nay. Fleischman . No. Nay. Fletcher . Yes. Yea. Flood . No. Nay. Foster . Yes. Yea. Fushi . Aye. Yea. Fox . Nay. Nay. Lois frankel . Yes. Yea. C. Scott franklin . No. Nay. Frost . Yes. Yea. Frye . No. Nay. Fulture . No. Nay. Gaetz . Yes. Yea. Gallagher . No. Nay. Gal gallego . Aye. Yea. Garamendi . Yes. Yea. Garbarino . No. Nay. Mike garcia . No. Nay. Robert garcia . Yea. Yea. Garcia of illinois . Yea. Yea. Garcia of texas . Yes. Yea. Jimenez . No. Nay. Golden of maine . Yes. Yea. Goldman of new york . Aye. Yea. Gomez . Aye. Yea. Tony gonzalez . Tony gonzalez . Vicente gonzalez . Yea. Yea. Goode of virginia . Yes. Yea. Gooden of texas . Gooden of texas . Gosar . No. Nay. Gottheimer . Yes. Yea. Granger . No. Nay. Graves of louisiana . No. Nay. Graves of missouri . No. Nay. Green of tennessee . No. Nay. Green of texas . Denies the right to vote. Yea. Greene of georgia . No. Nay. Griffith . No. Nay. Grijalva . Yes. Yea. Growth grothman . No. Nay. Guest . No. Nay. Guthrie . No. Nay. Hageman . No. No. Harter of california . Aye. Yea. Harris . No. Nay. Harshbarger . No. Nay. Hayes . Yes. Yea. Hearne . Nay. Nay. Higgins of louisiana . No. Nay. Higgins of new york . Yes. Yea. Hill . No, nay. Himes . Yes. Yea. Henson . No. Nay. Horseburg. Aye. Yea. Hallchin . No. Nay. Hoolihan . Yes. Yea. Hoyer . Hoyer . Yea. Yea. Hoyle of oregon . Aye. Yea. Hudson . No. Nay. Huffman . Yes. Yea. Huizenga . No. Nay. Hunt . Hunt . No. Nay. Isa . Nay. Nay. Ivy . Yes. Yea. Jackson of illinois . Yes. Yea. Jackson of North Carolina . Yes. Yea. Jackson of texas . No. Nay. Jackson lee . Aye. Yea. Jacobs . Yes. Yea. James . No. Nay. Jayapal . Yea. Yea. Jeffries . Aye. Yea. Johnson of georgia . Yes. . Johnson of louisiana . Nay. Nay. Johnson of ohio . No. Nay. Johnson of south dakota . No. Nay. Jordan . No. Nay. Joyce of ohio . No. Nay. Joyce of pennsylvania . No. Nay. Kim leberdov . Yes. Yea. Kaptur . Aye. Yea. Kane of new jersey . No. Nay. Keating . Yea. Yea. Kelly of illinois . Yea. Yea. Kelly of mississippi . No. Nay. Kelly of pennsylvania . Absolutely not. Nay. Khanna . Yes. Yea. Kiggins of virginia . No. Nay. Killdean . Yes. Yea. Kylie . No. Nay. Kilmer . Yes. Yea. Kim of california . No. Nay. Kim of new jersey . Yes. Yea. Krishn krishnamoorthi . Yes. Yea. Custer . Yes. Yea. Kustoff . No. Nay. Will hood . No. Nay. Hall halota . . No. Nay. Bla lamborn . Nay. As the clerk collects the yeas and nays, we should take a moment to pause. While we do not know the final outcome of this vote, reading the tea leaves and doing the basic math, six House Republicans have already voted to remove Kevin Mccarthy as speaker. If the house continues to vote the way we expect them to, based on the last vote, this likely means that Kevin Mccarthy will lose this vote, which means that for the first time in the history of the United States of america, a speaker will have been removed from his leadership position . That has never happened. There was a vote similar to this in 1910, but it did not succeed, dana bash. The moment of this cannot be underlined enough how historical and shocking it is, and in a few minutes, if everything goes according to what we think is going to happen, there will not be a House Speaker. Its very easy to sort of get caught in toing and froing, and the he saidshe said within the republican conference right now, but that really is. This is a banner headline moment. The Constitutional Office of speaker, second in line to the president of the United States, as you said, if this goes as its going right now will be vacant. It is a motion to vacate. It will be vacant. There will not be somebody in that role. Lets go back because we expect a seventh House Republican, and then well continue to discuss this. Luna . Luna . Latrell . Nay. Nay. Lynch . Yes. Yea. Mace . Aye. Yea. Manager . Yes. Yea. M maliotokas . No. Nay. Mann . No. Nay. So thats congress wan nancy mace of South Carolina who is the seventh House Republican to vote nay, further sealing the fate of Kevin Mccarthy. David chalian, a remarkable moment. This truly is historic. I mean, i know it seems as though journalists are always saying things are historic, especially since donald trump came down that escalator. But this has never happened in the history of the entire United States, from 1776 until now, this has never happened. That kind of defines what a historic moment, right . If its never happened before. And its hugely significant because i think it tells us where we are in our politics today. Clearly, for everyone to see, there is something broken in our politics. And i dont know that weve seen how its all going to get fixed yet, but this is the example that is being shown to the American People today of how its not functioning the way it was designed to function. And in that i mean anybody who looks at this, remember, the house is a majority rule body. I mean, much more so than the senate in its design. And yet i dont know, seven were up to . Eight members of the majority conference are clearly asserting their will here to rid the speaker of the house, who has the support of the vast majority of his conference. But that is where the trajectory of the Republican Party over the last 20 years has landed us right now. And it has reverberations beyond just the Republican Party. I think for the country at large. Lets listen in, because cory mills from florida is also somebody were listening to hear how he votes. Miller meeks . No. Nay. Mills . Mills . Molinaro . No. Nay. Molnar . No. Nay. Mooney . Nay. Nay. Moore of alabama . No. Nay. Moore of utah . No. Nay. Moore of wisconsin . Aye. Yea. Moran . No. Nay. So cory mills, republican of florida did not vote. He can always go back and vote on the floor or in the well later on. The next one were looking for is Congressman Rosendale from montana. So we have some time. What is interesting, kasie hunt about all of this, obviously, and literally history will decide, but Kevin Mccarthy tried to appease this group, this maga caucus. Yep. And maybe a different approach would have worked. Maybe a different approach wouldnt have gotten him the speakership. I dont know. But he tried to appease this caucus and it did not work. Well, i think there are some lessons in history on appeasement, jake, and where you end up when you pursue that. And i dont i guess it feels like ancient history now, world war ii. But it wasnt. And i think that this shows that he tried as hard as he could, and he made this pivot at the very last second, right. That sound bite that came out yesterday that sounded like a complete change in tone. Im doing this for the institution. Trying to suddenly appeal to democrats, because i think he realized that he was out of options. And where that leaves us is in a moment, as weve been discussing, that weve never experienced before as a nation. A u. S. House of representatives, which while its technically the senate likes to call it the lower chamber. It is the peoples house. It is considered the speaker. It is the speaker who is second in line to the presidency. Not a member of the senate. It is an extraordinarily important piece of our government. They have decided summarily to essentially remove their own head and not put anything in charge of it. And if we wake up tomorrow morning and there is no speaker of the house, thats going to be a real seminal moment for all of us. Well see what happens, which seems to be on track to remove mccarthy for the moment as speaker. It sounds like theyll probably get together in a conference and talk about it. They could potentially try to put somebody else. Mccarthy could try to put himself back up and vote over and over and over again until somebody gives. I think it is worth, as you have been doing, sitting with this for just a moment. And realizing what it represents in terms of our politics as a whole and how we got here. Yeah. Obviously, just two notes on that. We do not expect that theyll get rid of mccarthy and then adjourn for the night. We expect there will be an effort to name a new speaker and vote on a new speaker. We think. Obviously one never knows with the nihilist caucus as to what theyre going to do. But one presumes that i will try. Matt gaetz has already mentioned congressman tom cole as a possible replacement that would be acceptable to him, although who knows. And also for anybody wondering what happens then in the case of an emergency, the speaker of the house not existing, what happens if they need one, or if in the line of succession, the absolute worst thing happens, a meteor hits earth and they need a speaker of the house, do not worry. The parliamentarian has a list of people that Speaker Mccarthy gave to the parliamentarian when he became speaker of individuals who could fill that role, members of congress, should he be incapacitated for any reason. Thats a real helpful list, maybe for past speakers who had more control. Its a secret list. Yes, but its a list he knew hed have to use based on the deal he made, frankly, at the beginning of this process. So while this is a breaking news story, its also the worrells longest unfolding story, as we have been asking many times, Speaker Mccarthy, will this hurt your speakership . Will that hurt your speakership. Weve been hearing a lot. The other thing i wanted to ask you, lawmakers, you either fund raise really well or legislate really well or find the camera really well. A and the balance is shifting over which one of those talents is most useful. Absolutely. And some of that is symbiotic. If youre raising a lot of money you probably do tv very well. Its why some of the second or third members of congress let me interrupt. Im sorry. Were in the rs and listening for rosendale. Ill come back in a second. Rose . No. Nay. Rosendale . Aye. Yea. Ross . Yea. Yea. Rouser . No. Nay. Roy . Nay. Nay. Ruiz . Yes. Yea. That was the eighth vote from a House Republican in favor of removing House SpeakerKevin Mccarthy, this one from congressman Matt Rosendale of montana. Really, quite stunning turn of events. I guess we knew this was coming because of how they voted on proceeding to this vote itself. But still, doug, im sorry i interrupted. Please proceed. I first met mccarthy in 1996. Ive known for a long, long time. Gotten on with him very well. Had good fights with his staff, good conversations with his staff, Government Shutdowns working with his staff. And a lot of the questions im hearing is not really what happens to kevin now and all those kind of Human Instincts that you would have. Its we need to have a functioning government. We also need to have a functioning Republican Party. And what weve seen essentially since 2010, if not the 2010 takeover is we keep shooting ourselves in the foot and getting higher and higher and higher. Now its the head of the house. Where does it stop . Paul . Well, it began with Kevin Mccarthy when he made that deal on the 15th or 16th ballot to become speaker. And its a little wonky, but its really important. We gave the congress the power to remove the speaker on the motion of one person. Before that rule change, it required a majority of one of the two parties, which today would be 106 people. He gave it. It was like the frog and the scorpion. He is the frog who led a Scorpion Ride its nose and he is surprised that the scorpion has stung him and drowned them both. As the scorpion said to the frog, i couldnt help myself. Its just my nature. Thats matt gaetzs nature. Jake, thanks very much. Here with alyssa farah gingrich, s. E. Cupp as well as we continue to watch the counting of these votes. Lets talk a little bit about the democrats decision not to throw a lifeline to Kevin Mccarthy. Ive been talking to democrats all day, and really all week about this. And no stomach whatsoever, no appetite to save Kevin Mccarthy. You think about what happened in terms of the Impeachment Process that started with the president. They find him to be unreliable, that you cant cut a deal with Kevin Mccarthy and think its going to stuck. So why would you cut a new deal with Kevin Mccarthy . Because if things got tight, you cant count on him to actually show up and do what he committed to do. House minority leader kim jeffries wrote its now the responsibility of the gop leaders to end the Republican House civil war given their break from maga extremism, House Democratic leadership will vote yes on the pending republican. Lets listen in. Smucker . No. Nay. Sorenson . Yes. Yea. Soto . Yes. Yea. Spanberger . Yes. Yea. Spartz . No. Nay. Stansbury . Aye. Yea. Sorry, what was that, s. E. . I was just listening for spartz out of indiana. She had said that she was going to vote not to vacate Kevin Mccarthy. But that was an interesting one to listen to. Despite last night i spoke to her, and she was considering it. Yes. Because she is not too thrilled with Kevin Mccarthy either, but decided she decided to go forward with the vote to vacate, but then decided not to actually vacate. So some people we will probably see them doing that. To your earlier question about what democrats decided just a few minutes ago, our clegg annie grayer speaking to jim clyburn on the floor tonight says that a lot of democrats were upset with mccarthy because of what he said on Face The Nation this nation, blaming democrats for bringing the country to the brink of a government shutdown. To me, that is not just about that particular moment. For democrats, it clearly signified that mccarthy is not reformed. He is not interested in doing the right thing for the right reasons. He still has his deeply partisan political hat on. And i think that as democrats looked at the situation and said is this someone we can work with, is this someone who has the best interests of the body at heart, those comments really cut against that. And clearly hurt him according to clyburn. Some democrats that might have even considered voting present, they all Rank And File went with the entire groups consensus, which was to not bail mccarthy out in this moment. And it probably didnt have to be quite like this if he had played it a bit of a different way. I think it goes back even further than that. If you think of how Kevin Mccarthy assumed the speakership, it was by making tremendous concessions to the far right flank, from giving Video Footage to Tucker Carlson of the january 6th insurrection to the capitol, to putting Freedom Caucus members on the rules committee, to changing threshold for the motion to vacate. He set up a speakership that at that time people were saying would likely be one of the shortest in history. Surely enough, the same Agents Of Chaos who made it very difficult 15 rounds for him to become speaker are pulling what they are now. This is kind of a strategic miscalculation by mccarthy. Im shocked there is no bigger effort to try to whip some democratic support today, even on the mar swrins to try to cut some deals and see if you can pull over even half a dozen of them could have gotten him over the line to vote present. What sort of deal would have done that . It could be promises on legislation he would bring up on the house floor. The speaker and the leader control the house floor. Procedural concession about how the house even works. Thats some of the things that you were starting to hear whispers of from democrats that if mccarthy made the congress a more functional body in a bipartisan way, maybe they could consider it. But that also, one of the things that this also shows, its not we shouldnt underestimate the power of Hakeem Jeffries to keep his caucus together. He has democrats united. That is no easy task. They are not all on the same page. Plenty of moderates are not on the far left either. But he has them unified. And they were able to get to a Consensus Point on this, with really no exceptions. Thats extraordinary. And i think in addition to the partisanship that democrats are diagnosising with Kevin Mccarthy and just being unreliable, theyre also identifying a lack of competence and ability to get anything done. I talked to eric swalwell, congressman from california today, who said this is a battle between competence and chaos. And that framing, thats good politics and great alliteration, but that framing is motivating some of this too. If you cant figure out your caucus and your house, maybe you dont deserve to be speaker. And were not going to help you keep the chaos continuing. So you figure that part out. Were going be over here getting stuff done i think is the attitude on the left. S. E. Just mentioned a word that we should not ignore in this process, which is politics. And as democrats are thinking about going into an election year, here you have a House Of Representatives that is chaotic, its dysfunctional, that can barely get anything done. And i got to tell you, a lot of democrats say why should we rescue them from this chaos . Let the American People see what it looks like when they have republican control. And when we go out there and make our case, it will give us a stronger hand about turning who t house back over to democrat control. Let it play out is the strategy. As a political one, it makes a lot of sense. Republicans want to run on the Biden Administration not doing anything, the administration not doing anything. Now theyre the ones in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Lets listen in. Whitman . No. Nay. Womack . No. Nay. Yakim . No. Nay. Zinke . No, nay, never. Nay. Mccarthy . No. Nay. Carter of texas. I have tony gonzalez. I have i have luna. And then i have ready to move . Ive got to go through these. You good . House will be in order. The clerk will now call the names of members that have not already been recorded alphabetically. Banks . No. Nay. Bush . Bush . Kammick . No. Nay. Carter of texas . Carter of texas . Then going to go to tony gonzalez. Tony gonzalez . No. Nay. Gooden of texas . Gooden of texas . Luna . Luna . Mills . No. Nay. Pelosi . Pelosi . Peltola . Peltola . Sykes . Sykes . Are there other members are there other members in this body who have not been recorded or who wish to change their vote . Have you got the tally . Hold on. They just gave him a piece of paper. On this vote, the yeas are 216. The nays are 210. The resolution is adopted. Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. The office of speaker of the house of the United StatesHouse Of Representatives is hereby declared vacant. An historic moment. For the first time in the history of the United States, the speaker of the house has been removed. For those paying attention at home and trying to understand why its not a 218 vote count, it require ass a it require as majority of those present and counting. It requires 426 people present and voting, 426, which means you need half plus one. And that would be 214 votes. And they have the yeas to remove Speaker Mccarthy, or 216. It is a resounding defeat for Speaker Mccarthy with 8 of his fellow House Republicans, including congressman matt gaetz, who led this effort, leading the charge to join the democrats to remove him from power. Lets listen in if they are are they talking right now . Pursuant to clause 8 b 3 b is patrick t. Mchenry of North Carolina, signed sincerely kevin f. Mccumber, acting clerk. Pursuant to clause 83 b of rule one, ill act as speaker pro tem. The chair will inform the members of the house the following. The office of the speaker was rendered vacant pursuant to the adoption of House Resolution 757. Upon a vacancy in the office of speaker, Clause 8b3 Of Rule One requires that the next member on a list submitted by the speaker, pursuant to the rule acts as speaker pro tem until the election of a new speaker. And bestows the authority of the office of speaker on the speaker pro tem to the extent necessary and appropriate to that end. In the opinion of the chair, prior to proceeding to the election of a speaker, it will be prudent to first recess for the relative caucus and conferences to meet and discuss the path forward. Accordingly, pursuant to clause 12a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess, subject to the recall of the chair. An angry gaveling down by the man named as speaker pro tem, meaning he is the temporary speaker of the house, that is congressman patrick mchenry, a republican from North Carolina, a close ally of Kevin Mccarthy who is no longer the speaker of the house. Let us go to manu raju, who is outside the house chamber. M manu, a devastating day for former speaker Kevin Mccarthy, who told reporters that the 15 rounds he went through of balloting in january taught him how to govern. Apparently not so much. Yeah, he thought he was he thought he would be able to get the warring factions together, but it devolved, a handful of members within his own conference were furious at his decisions, including to keep the government open by relying on democratic votes. They have a sharp agreement over spending levels and Personality Conflicts as well. But given the narrowness of this House Republican majority, Kevin Mccarthy was essentially isolated within his own conference, given the opposition within his right flank. He knew full well that a handful of members could upset his plans at any given time, on any party line vote. He had initial calculated to try to align himself with those members on the far right, but at times when simply needing to do the basic essence of governing, raising the National Debt limit or keeping the government open, he needed democratic support. Theres a Democratic Senate and democratic white house. That is something the members on his far right of his conference simply would not accept, which is why he has met this fate. A historic vote. First time ever, removed from speakership. Now the house is in a complete state of paralysis. There will be a vote eventually, either tonight, maybe tomorrow, to name a new speaker. That is a bit unclear at the moment. Also unclear, what Kevin Mccarthy will do. Will he put himself up as a candidate for speaker . He has said for some time that hes ready to fight. Does that mean hell actually be a candidate . That is a major question at the moment. Can anyone get 218 votes in this bitterly divided house and this bitterly divided republican conference . A lot of these members who have aligned themselves with mccarthy want him to fight. They dont want matt gaetz to win this round right here. So there are a lot of questions about all of the next steps here, jake. But one thing is clear, this is an historic moment here in the house, and a very, very angry members of the republican conference here emerging, wanting to know how to go forward and worried about their own political hides, worried that they could lose the house given the Leadership Crisis they are now facing, jake, as they try to pick up the pieces. Manu, are we expecting to see Congressman Mccarthy come out any time soon . Reporter we are expecting him. Hes expected to walk out this way towards his office. Well try to ask him a question as he does come out. So well see, jake, in just a matter of minutes whether or not the speaker, now former speaker, wants to weigh in and whether he will detail his plans in the days ahead. And then, of course, before congressman, the speaker pro tem mchenry angrily gavelled that to a close, i thought he was going to hurt himself, he gavelled so furiously, he basically suggested that now the Republican Caucus im sorry, the republican conference and the Democratic Caucus would now meet, they would huddle. Congressman gaetz, who led the charge for this, told me Congressman Gaetz is talking right now. Lets listen in. The benefit of this country that we have a better speaker of the house than Kevin Mccarthy. Kevin mccarthy couldnt keep his word regarding the way january would work and he violated that agreement. We are 33 trillion in debt, we are facing 2. 2 trillion annual deficits, we face a Dedollariz Dedollarization globally that will crush working class americans. Kevin mccarthy is a creature of the swamp. He has risen to power by collecting special interest money and redistributing that money in exchange for favors. We are breaking the fever and we should elect a speaker who is better. You said last night that Steve Scalise was a name that you floated to potentially be speaker. Where do things stand right now . The stages of grief, i think, are in progress right now with some of my colleagues. I think there was a stage of denial and ive certainly experienced a good amount of their anger. Now we appear to be headed toward bargaining. I think the world of Steve Scalise. I think he would make a phenomenal speaker. Are you afraid of getting expelled . Im afraid of 33 trillion in debt crushing the working people in my district. Im afraid of the dollar losing its status as a global reserve currency. If they want to expel me, let me know when they have the vote. Less than 45 days left before you have to pass a budget, something youve been wanting to do. Doesnt this completely paralyze the house . Will you be a candidate . Watch out. It does not look as though Kevin Mccarthy is cooperating, so let us go back to matt gaetz, if we can, to listen in to what he has to say. What paralyzed the House Of Representatives was not taking up appropriations bills. We left for a sixweek vacation while the appropriations process hung in the balance. And because i forced these people to take a few votes i think im paralyzing the House Of Representatives . I think the House Of Representatives has been paralyzed for the last several decades as weve refused to pass a budget governed by continuing resolution and omnibus bill. I think this represents the ripping off of the bandaid and thats what we need to do to get back on track. What do you say to your colleagues who argue you tonight have another name right now . You dont have someone else who would get 218 votes. What do you tell them . I would tell them for certain, Kevin Mccarthy cant get 218 votes, so lets try the next person. Would you be okay with mchenry . There would have to be a real meeting of the minds there. Im sorry, you had a question. Are you going to ask for a guarantee from whoever is floated as a candidate for them to move the appropriations process along at a speed that satisfies you . Yes. Will you be putting yourself forward for the speakership . Absolutely not. I have no desire to be speaker of the house. I think the world of tom emery. He would make a great speaker. Have you spoken with scalise . Ive spoken with him but ill keep our conversations between us. What was going through your head when the Vote Gavelled down . Weve got to move to the next step. We are not at the end of this process. At most, were approaching halftime. Were got to be able to assemble a governing coalition. We have to build from a place of trust. The reason Kevin Mccarthy went down today is because nobody trusts Kevin Mccarthy. Kevin mccarthy has made multitude contradictory promises, and when they all came due, he lost votes of people who maybe dont even ideologically agree with me. Take my colleague from South Carolina, she has different views than i do on a variety of subjects. What we had in common, Kevin Mccarthy lied to all of us. Youre saying that nobody trusts Kevin Mccarthy. Youre talking about, including yourself, about seven republicans, compared to about 200 and some odd republicans who do trust him. Can you kind of explain that . Well, as it turns out, getting 200 republicans to trust you isnt enough to stay speaker. Have you spoken to former President Trump about this since the ousting . Was he supportive of what you were doing . I have spoken to President Trump over the last several days. The ousting only occurred several minutes ago. So let me break away from this Press Conference with Congressman Gaetz, who led the charge against now former speaker Kevin Mccarthy. We are joined now by republican congressman from tennessee, one of the eight republicans who voted to remove Kevin Mccarthy. Congressman, thank you so much for joining us. First of all, i want to get some clarity on something you said as you were going into the haouse chamber. You said you were deciding on how to vote, whether to side with your friend, Kevin Mccarthy, or your conscience, but that he called you and he said something that, in your view, belittled your faith because you were praying on how to vote. Can you explain how that conversation went . Yeah, he just basically said something that i thought belittled me and my belief system. That pretty much sealed it with me right there. I thought that showed the character of the man. Yeah, i wanted to do it a long time ago, i was wanting to do it while the six weeks we were on break, from august until the first two weeks of september, and i said to him, i wish you hadnt waited until right now to call me. Yeah, thats odd. Members of congress or political leaders, americans in general, saying that theyre going to pray on something is a fairly common thing to say. What did he say . Its not just me. Im not just saying that. I mean, i do. I sweat over these issues. I worry about the single moms working two jobs in my district and that were taking in 5 trillion and dont have the discipline and we spend 7 trillion. I worry about that and the decreasing value of the dollar. I talked about how the shutdown of three or four days would have been terrible on working folks, but it would have been worse if our whole system collapsed. I just cant get this conference to understand that we are going off a cliff financially. We were downgraded for the first time or second time, i think, and the agency said, really, two reasons. One was leadership and one was fiscal maturity. Over the last 20 minutes. It cuts both parties. But i was elected to do that, to be fiscally responsible, and thats what im going to do. So who do you think might have the votes to be speaker of the house . Because in order for you to proceed on a mature fiscal path, as youre saying, you need a leader. Tom cole, to