Rep. Gaetz files motion to oust Speaker McCarthy over deal averting government shutdown

by

Karen Ben-Moyal

in Current Affairs Posted on 

10/01/2023 11:00 AM

With just a few hours remaining before the midnight deadline, divided congressional lawmakers were able to avert a government shutdown Saturday evening by passing a short-term spending bill that keeps agencies funded through November the 17th. U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was eventually forced to take charge of creating a working resolution that could reach bi-partisan support and avoid shutting down the federal government. 

House Speaker McCarthy ended up maneuvering a last-minute continuing resolution (CR) which would require significant support from Democrats to keep agencies’ doors open for 45 extra days, and allocated $16 billion in federal disaster aid to hard-hit American communities. In addition, the speaker would go against the wishes of the White House in specifically blocking out or preventing the implementation of any further proposed foreign aid deals which would allow more funds to go towards assisting Ukraine in their war against Russia. Shortly after the bill was approved in the House, the Senate would almost immediately vote in favor of the last-minute compromise. This motion sent the deal straight to the desk of the U.S. president for final confirmation. With just a few hours to spare before the midnight deadline, President Joe Biden signed off on the agreement, which temporarily averted a government shutdown and gave federal leaders an extension in which they could arrange supplemental discussions and later vote on long-term decisions.

On Sunday, Florida Congressman Matthew Gaetz announced he will be seeking to oust Speaker Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from his leadership position as Speaker of the House following the dramatic move made by Congress. In response to Rep. Gaetz's "motion to vacate the speakership," Rep. McCarthy said, "That's nothing new. . . He has tried to do that from the moment I ran for office. . . I'll survive." The speaker added that the confrontational disagreement was, "personal with Matt. . . Gaetz is more interested in securing TV interviews than doing something. . . So be it, bring it on, let's get over with it and let's start governing." 

Photo Credit Mark Foley