On October 3rd, 2023 the U.S. House of Representatives had elected to remove Kevin McCarthy from his position as the speaker of the house. Eight Republicans and 208 Democrats voted to remove Kevin McCarthy as the speaker and ultimately succeeded. Four Democrats and three Republicans did not vote.

The aftermath of the situation caused confusion and worry among U.S. citizens. Without a speaker of the house, legislation such as government revenue and especially taxes, would not be able to be voted upon. In other words, many institutions or government-funded organizations would’ve had to find an alternative source of funding or otherwise face the threat of being shut down.

“The decision of removing the speaker of the house may have caused increased tensions between Republicans which is incredibly problematic due to their party having a majority in the house,” said FLC History teacher Thomas Magliaro.

For a new speaker of the house to be elected they must be in quorum and win the majority vote, which at the very simplest is 218 votes out of all 435 members. However, if a new speaker fails to be elected, the House will continue to vote until it does.

Magliaro had also expressed great concern about the lack of consensus regarding who would take over as the speaker of the house. He stated that the vacancy would not only have been a bad thing for the U.S. but for the entire world as a whole due to the current wars in Europe and the Middle East.

During the vacancy, Patrick Mchenry served as the pro tempore speaker of the house until a new speaker was elected,

As of October 25, 2023, the U.S. House of Representatives had elected Republican Mike Johnson as the new speaker of the house.