Kevin McCarthy ousted as speaker, throwing Washington into chaos
WASHINGTON — Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday became the first speaker of the House in history to be ousted by a vote of the chamber, leaving Washington in chaos and dealing a potentially fatal blow to the Bakersfield Republican’s political career.The revolt against McCarthy was led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and a small group of hard-right Republicans who have complained that the speaker worked across the aisle too often. The 216-210 vote highlighted the divisions in the GOP and made clear that the party’s right wing will not tolerate leaders who compromise with President Biden and his allies.Gaetz and seven other Republicans joined with 208 Democrats to dump McCarthy.“Well, we heard McCarthy say he wanted us to bring it on,” Gaetz told reporters after the vote. “So I guess we did.”The result ...