McCarthy ousted: How Minnesota representatives voted
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is surrounded by press and police on the way to the chamber, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023. McCarthy’s ability to remain in leadership is now seriously at risk after the House voted to move ahead with an effort by hard-right Republican critics to oust him. Tuesday’s narrow vote was forced by McCarthy’s chief rival, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy was voted out Tuesday afternoon in a 216-210 vote.
Minnesota’s representatives were torn down the middle with the four Democrats voting to oust him and the four Republicans voting to keep him:
- Angie Craig (D-2nd District)- Yes
- Tom Emmer (R-6th District)- No
- Brad Finstad (R-1st District)- No
- Michelle Fischbach (R-7th District)- No
- Betty McCollum (D-4th District)- Yes
- Ilhan Omar (D-5th District)- Yes
- Dean Phillips (D-3rd District)- Yes
- Pete Stauber (R-8th District) – No
Representative Phillips issued a statement saying he chose to “uphold principle” with his “Yes” vote.
“I’m disappointed that former Speaker McCarthy chose not to work with Democrats, reform Congress, and make it work as intended,” Phillips said. “An historic, missed opportunity to demonstrate bipartisanship and restore faith in our government. I’ll be working to do so with the next Speaker.”
Representative Stauber released the following statement:
“This is a sad day for America. Speaker McCarthy and House Republicans have consistently delivered strong results for the American people, who are hurting thanks to the policies of the Biden Administration. Under his conservative and steadfast leadership, House Republicans have passed bills to cut $2 trillion in spending, reduce energy costs, enact commonsense work requirements, restore order at the southern border, and much more.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy had my full support in January, and he had my full support today.
Make no mistake, Matt Gaetz worked with socialist Democrats to remove a Republican Speaker. Thanks to his actions, the important work of the House of Representatives is now stalled, and we are unable to hold Joe Biden and his failing Administration accountable.
To quote former Speaker of the House Joseph G. Cannon in 1910, ‘government is not the whim of a handful of men who don’t know what they want—and when they get it, want something else.’
Matt Gaetz and a handful of other selfish Republicans have no interest in governing. They care more about fundraising and making a name for themselves than getting the hard work done for the American people. “I will continue to stand with the vast majority of our House Republican Conference as we push back against the chaos created by Matt Gaetz and his Democrat allies.”
“In the last nine months, Speaker McCarthy stood up to Democrats and forced President Biden to agree to the largest federal spending cuts in a decade. He ended the Omnibus Bill process, and now Congress is working on 12 separate appropriations bills, as it should. And, he opened an impeachment inquiry against President Biden,” added Representative Fischbach in a statement. “I am truly disappointed that all of that work is going to be halted until another Speaker is elected.”
Before McCarthy was voted out, a few representatives put statements on Twitter.