Gaetz Files Motion to Oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy

The House representative from Florida has formally called for a ’motion to vacate the chair,' challenging Speaker McCarthy’s leadership of the GOP.

(Left) Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) departs from the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington on Sept. 29, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images); (Right) Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) speaks at a press conference on Border Security in the Rayburn Room at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Sept. 29, 2023. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Monday filed a motion to vacate Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as House Speaker, setting up a likely showdown vote in the lower chamber in the days ahead.

Mr. Gaetz is a member of the hardline conservative GOP faction that has, for months, warned Mr. McCarthy it would introduce a motion to vacate, a procedural tool, to attempt to oust Mr. McCarthy from his office if their concerns about specific items of government overspending were not acknowledged. Those threats escalated over the weekend after Mr. McCarthy relied on Democrats to provide the necessary votes to fund the government.