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Republican Matt Gaetz files historic bid to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy bbc
US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy is fighting for his political life after a right-wing rebel filed a rarely used motion to oust him.
He is expected to call a vote on his fate on Tuesday. If he loses, he would be removed as Speaker.
Matt Gaetz, a far-right Republican, moved to oust Mr McCarthy on Monday, frustrated about a "secret deal" he believes he made with Democrats.
Mr McCarthy posted on social media: "Bring it on."
The Speaker rebuffed questions from reporters on Tuesday, declaring: "You're asking me why I'm confident? Because of who I am. And I just don't give up.
"Keeping the government open and paying our troops was the right decision. I stand by that decision and at the end of the day if I have to lose my job over it, so be it."
...
Tensions between Mr Gaetz and Mr McCarthy boiled over at the weekend after the Speaker passed a bill with the help of Democrats to fund government agencies.
No US Speaker has ever been ousted by such a so-called motion to vacate.
The Speaker is second in the line of succession for the presidency after the US vice-president. He or she sets the lower house of Congress's legislative priorities, controls committee assignments, and can make or break the White House's agenda.
The deal late on Saturday that averted a government shutdown left out $6bn (£5bn) of funding for Ukraine because Mr Gaetz, of Florida, and others on the right of the Republican Party, insisted the US has spent too much on that country's war with Russia.
Mr Gaetz has wielded the threat of dethroning Mr McCarthy ever since January when he led party rebels in opposing the California congressman's bid for the speakership, forcing him to endure 15 gruelling rounds of voting in the chamber.
During the political horse-trading before he ultimately won the gavel, Mr McCarthy agreed to a change of rules that would allow any single lawmaker to call for a vote to oust the Speaker.
...
US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy is fighting for his political life after a right-wing rebel filed a rarely used motion to oust him.
He is expected to call a vote on his fate on Tuesday. If he loses, he would be removed as Speaker.
Matt Gaetz, a far-right Republican, moved to oust Mr McCarthy on Monday, frustrated about a "secret deal" he believes he made with Democrats.
Mr McCarthy posted on social media: "Bring it on."
The Speaker rebuffed questions from reporters on Tuesday, declaring: "You're asking me why I'm confident? Because of who I am. And I just don't give up.
"Keeping the government open and paying our troops was the right decision. I stand by that decision and at the end of the day if I have to lose my job over it, so be it."
...
Tensions between Mr Gaetz and Mr McCarthy boiled over at the weekend after the Speaker passed a bill with the help of Democrats to fund government agencies.
No US Speaker has ever been ousted by such a so-called motion to vacate.
The Speaker is second in the line of succession for the presidency after the US vice-president. He or she sets the lower house of Congress's legislative priorities, controls committee assignments, and can make or break the White House's agenda.
The deal late on Saturday that averted a government shutdown left out $6bn (£5bn) of funding for Ukraine because Mr Gaetz, of Florida, and others on the right of the Republican Party, insisted the US has spent too much on that country's war with Russia.
Mr Gaetz has wielded the threat of dethroning Mr McCarthy ever since January when he led party rebels in opposing the California congressman's bid for the speakership, forcing him to endure 15 gruelling rounds of voting in the chamber.
During the political horse-trading before he ultimately won the gavel, Mr McCarthy agreed to a change of rules that would allow any single lawmaker to call for a vote to oust the Speaker.
...
