Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) speaks to reporters after a closed-door House Republican Conference meeting on Tuesday, October 3, 2023. McCarthy will bring up Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) motion to vacate the Chair at the first vote series of the day.
A quick recap of the day and what to look forward to tomorrow
MORE THAN half a dozen Republicans joined Democrats to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as House Speaker in a historic vote on Tuesday, the first time a Speaker has ever been removed through a no-confidence vote.
It was the first time since 1910 that a vote has been held on whether to remove a Speaker and the only time such a motion has been approved.
The vote is the culmination of months of internal strife facing the GOP leader, who rose to the Speakership in January after a historic 15 rounds of voting.
In the end, eight Republicans joined Democrats to remove the Speaker, approving the measure in a 216-210 vote.
McCarthy fired back at a small group of House GOP critics on Monday after Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) filed the motion to vacate the Speakership.
The Florida Republican tried to block McCarthy’s rise to Speaker in January and has vocally criticized his handling of issues, including most recently working with Democrats to advance a stopgap government funding bill.
“I don’t think voting against Kevin McCarthy is chaos. I think $33 trillion in debt is chaos. I think that facing a $2.2 trillion annual deficit is chaos. I think that not passing single subject spending bills is chaos,” Gaetz said Tuesday.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), one of the leaders of the impeachment inquiry against President Biden, said McCarthy “has been rock solid” on passing bills, getting oversight work done and stopping a last-minute omnibus.
While Republicans took the floor Tuesday afternoon presenting impassioned pleas both for and against McCarthy, Democrats unified in their opposition to the Speaker, ultimately helping sink his hopes of holding onto the gavel.
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said in a “dear colleague” letter earlier Tuesday that Democratic leadership would support the motion to vacate and that it’s “the responsibility of the GOP members to end the House Republican Civil War.”
Welcome to Evening Report! I’m Amee LaTour, catching you up from the afternoon and what’s coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here.
CATCH UP QUICK
The judge overseeing the New York civil fraud case against former President Trump issued a limited gag order after Trump shared a post on Truth Social targeting the judge’s principal clerk.
Hunter Biden, the president’s son, on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to gun charges related to concealing drug use after a plea deal with the Justice Department fell apart over the summer.
GOP presidential rivals Vivek Ramaswamy and Chris Christiewill appear separately on Fox News’s “Special Report” tonight after being threatened with a ban from future debates if they appeared together.
The second day of trial in the New York civil fraud case against former President Trump, his adult sons and the Trump Organization included more testimony from former Trump accountant Donald Bender.
The Hill’s Ella Lee reported that Bender’s testimony “is helping prosecutors shift blame over the alleged inflation of those figures [real estate properties] off of the accountants who prepared the documents and onto the business itself.”
Trump said earlier in the day, “It can’t be fraud when you’ve told institutions to do their own work. This case is a fraud, and it’s a scam.”
Schumer to lead delegation to China, Korea and Japan
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) will lead a congressional delegation on a trip to China, Korea and Japan focused on U.S. economic and national security interests in the region next week. The trip follows recent visits to China from Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Passport processing times going down
The State Department announced passport processing times for applications received on or after Oct. 2 will be reduced to 8 to 11 weeks for routine service and 5 to 7 weeks for expedited service.
Pro-Christie PAC launches NH ad campaign
A super PAC supporting former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie‘s (R) presidential bid launched an ad in New Hampshire featuring footage of Christie criticizing both the Trump and Biden administrations on the national debt at last week’s primary debate.
PUNDIT CORNER
“How the Supreme Court could move to rein in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau” — Brian Johnson, former deputy director of the CFPB (Read here)
“Can Elena Kagan save the Supreme Court?” — Steven Lubet, the Williams Memorial Professor Emeritus at the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law (Read here)
⏲️ COUNTDOWN
36 days until the next Republican presidential primary debate.
45 days until the government funding deadline.
🗓 ON TAP TOMORROW
10 a.m.: The Senate Appropriations Committee receives a closed briefingon U.S. assistance to Ukrainian air defenses.
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