In a historic vote, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to “Vacate the Chair” and oust Speaker McCarthy, a move that’s been tried a few times in history, but never succeeded until now. Because this is the first time this has ever happened, there’s some uncertainty surrounding the powers that “Speaker Pro Tem” Patrick McHenry has. Here are the things we know (at the moment, all of this is subject to change at any time!) and what we are expecting over the next week:
- Former Speaker McCarthy will not run for Speaker again.
- Even though most House members have left town, they didn’t have enough votes for a “Motion to Adjourn” so they will be gaveling in and out each day in a “pro forma” session until next Wednesday, Oct. 11.
- House Financial Services Chair Patrick McHenry is Speaker Pro Tem until a new Speaker is elected. He was on a list chosen by Speaker McCarthy for this very incident. There’s uncertainty surrounding his powers since we’ve never been in this situation before, but he’s believed to have the powers of the Speaker completely.
- There will be a candidate forum on Tuesday, Oct. 10, when House members are back in town to hear from those interested in being speaker. The announced candidates are Majority Leader Steve Scalise (LA) and Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (OH). A few other names have been circulated including Whip Tom Emmer (MN), RSC Chairman Kevin Hern (OK) and Former President Trump.
- The House can still technically legislate since a rules package was passed at the beginning of the session, but we don’t expect anything until a new Speaker is elected.
We’ll be monitoring the situation closely and keep you updated!
