The leader of the United States House of Representatives, Republican Kevin McCarthy, will see his dismissal put to a vote after failing to block that procedure in a previous vote this Tuesday.
The motion to stop the resolution presented against him on Monday by fellow conservative Matt Gaetz was rejected by 218 votes, so it will continue in that chamber, as it reached the minimum amount needed by a simple majority.
Another 208 legislators, an insufficient number, spoke in favor of blocking that process and keeping McCarthy in that position assumed last January after 15 attempts.
Gaetz is part of the “Freedom Caucus”, the wing of the Republican Party most sympathetic to former President Donald Trump (2017-2021), which already tried to block his election in January.
“It is said that we are going to cause chaos, but the one who is the chaos is McCarthy, someone whose word we cannot trust,” Gaetz said this Tuesday in the debate that precedes the impeachment vote.
His motion seeks to revoke McCarthy, among other points, for working with Democrats to avoid a temporary shutdown of the US Government, something that was achieved on Saturday “in extremis” with the approval of an extension that extends the Executive's funding for issues for 45 days. clue.
Democrats have already said they will not support McCarthy in the vote. Activating the motion of censure only requires that it be promoted by a legislator, whether Democrat or Republican, and that this vote reaches a simple majority of 218 votes.
It is an unusual procedure that has been used twice in the last century in the United States, both without success: against fellow Republicans Joseph Cannon in 1910 and John Boehner in 2015.
On that last occasion it was not put to a vote, but its presentation is considered a trigger for Boehner to resign months later.
The rules of the House of Representatives establish that it is its own president who must draw up a list of his possible substitutes in case his position is declared vacant.
This list would be made public only if this situation were met and the chosen person would act on an interim basis until the election of the new leader.