Moderate Republicans turn on rebels who ousted speaker

There were calls for the expulsion of Matt Gaetz, who persuaded seven others to join every Democrat in removing Kevin McCarthy.

Donald Trump, during a break in his civil trial for fraud in New York, is asked on Wednesday whether he would consider the speakership. Picture: AFP

Republican moderates have turned on party hardliners who ousted the Speaker of the House of Representatives, amid warnings that US funding for Ukraine could become a casualty of the party’s ­infighting.

There were calls for the expulsion of Matt Gaetz, the Florida congressman who persuaded seven fellow Republicans to join every Democrat member in removing Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday. It is the first time in US history that a Speaker has been voted out of office.

Several of Donald Trump’s acolytes are promoting him as a replacement for Mr McCarthy, and although he has not ruled himself out, he has said he was concentrating on running for president. The Speaker does not have to be an elected member of the house.

Mr McCarthy’s downfall has paralysed the lower house of congress. Without a Speaker, it cannot conduct any business until voting begins on a successor next Wednesday, despite the urgency to pass budget bills. Mr Gaetz and his fellow rebels called for a new era of spending cuts under Mr McCarthy’s successor.

Senior Republicans fear the infighting will turn voters off and hand the majority back to the Democrats in next year’s election.

House foreign affairs committee chairman Michael McCaul said Mr McCarthy’s removal was “bad for Ukraine” and for America’s image abroad. “Kevin supports Ukraine. I’m not sure where the next Speaker will be,” Mr McCaul said. Pro-Ukraine Republicans suffered a setback when congress did not include any aid in the short-term spending bill passed on Saturday to avoid a federal government shutdown.

Mr McCaul said Mr McCarthy had been trying to negotiate a deal that would combine Ukraine funds with security measures for the US-Mexico border, to satisfy party hardliners. “That’s all on hold now,” Mr McCaul said. “It’s a bad day for Ukraine, it’s a bad day for America. And it’s just going to embolden our adversaries like China, who already think democracy is dysfunctional.”

President Joe Biden has asked congress to approve another $US24bn ($37.8bn) for Ukraine but Jim Jordan, the house judiciary committee chairman who is among contenders to replace Mr McCarthy, opposes the idea. Asked about it by CNN, he said bluntly: “I’m against that.”

Mr Biden admitted he was worried about funding for Ukraine as he appealed for the issue not to become a victim of “gamesmanship” in congress, just a day after he reassured America’s allies that it was still committed to helping.

“We need to change the poisonous atmosphere in Washington,” he said. “We have strong disagreements but we need to stop seeing each other as enemies.

“We need to talk to one another, listen to one another, work with one another.”

Republican divisions on the Speaker issue have been thrown into sharp relief by the party’s slim, nine-seat majority in the 435-member House: just five rebels can thwart their colleagues. Some seem determined to increase the tensions and curry favour with their voting base by pushing for Mr Trump to become Speaker.

Troy Nehls of Texas tweeted: “I nominate Donald J. Trump for Speaker of the house.”

Mr Trump, during a break in his civil trial for fraud in New York, said: “A lot of people have been calling me about Speaker, so all I can say is, we will do whatever is best for the country and for the Republican Party. I just want to say, we have some great, great people.”

Asked whether he would consider the role, he said: “I’m focused … we’re leading by, like, 50 points for president. My focus is totally on that. If I can help them with the process, I would do it.”

Newsweek pointed out that he is banned under rule 26 of the House Republican Conference, which states: “A member of the Republican leadership shall step aside if indicted for a felony for which a sentence of two or more years’ imprisonment may be ­imposed.”

Some Republicans suggested that the rule agreed by Mr McCarthy when he was negotiating with hardliners for their support in January – that just one member could call a vote to “vacate the chair” – should be changed because it creates too much instability. The Republicans control the chamber by 221 to 212 seats, with two vacancies.

Newt Gingrich, a firebrand during his time as Speaker from 1995 to 1999, said Mr Gaetz “should be expelled from the house conference. House Republicans have far more important things to do than entertain one member’s ego.”

The Times