Here's how the news has developed. All times Eastern.
Oct 04, 2023, 10:14 AM EDT
Jockeying has begun for the speaker's gavel
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise has started making the rounds, calling members to see if they would support him if he formally threw his hat in the ring, sources told ABC News.
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who has previously dismissed the idea of wanting to be speaker -- would not rule it out on Tuesday night. Republicans sources close to Jordan say he has started to have conversations about a potential bid.
Rep. Jim Jordan
House.gov
Another name being floated for the position: Oklahoma Rep. Kevin Hern, the head of the Republican Study Committee.
The House has canceled votes and all remaining legislative business for the week. Republicans plan to gather behind closed doors Tuesday for a candidate forum -- eyeing a vote for speaker as early as Wednesday, sources said.
Oct 04, 2023, 10:02 AM EDT
GOP orders another former Democratic leader to vacate Capitol office
Republicans have also ordered Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., to vacate his Capitol hideaway office, a source familiar with the communication confirmed to ABC News. Hoyer served for two decades in House Democratic leadership but stepped away after the 2022 midterm elections, stating it was time for a new generation to take over.
Along with the move to push former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi out of her office, it’s the latest sign of how much hostility exists between Republicans and Democrats following the removal of McCarthy as House speaker.
Oct 03, 2023, 10:17 PM EDT
Pelosi ordered to vacate Capitol office as Speaker McHenry’s first act
In one of Rep. Patrick McHenry’s first moves as speaker pro tempore, he ordered former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to immediately vacate her hideaway office in the Capitol by Wednesday, sources tell ABC News.
Most lawmakers have offices in the buildings surrounding the Capitol -- not in the Capitol itself.
Hideaway offices are private unmarked spaces in the Capitol, typically reserved for members of House leadership. But as a former speaker, Pelosi was allowed to keep one.
Pelosi was informed of this news as she was in San Francisco attending a memorial service for the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
In a statement to ABC News, Pelosi criticized the move, “With all of the important decisions that the new Republican Leadership must address, which we are all eagerly awaiting, one of the first actions taken by the new Speaker Pro Tempore was to order me to immediately vacate my office in the Capitol. Sadly, because I am in California to mourn the loss of and pay tribute to my dear friend Dianne Feinstein, I am unable to retrieve my belongings at this time.”
Pelosi continued, “This eviction is a sharp departure from tradition. As Speaker, I gave former Speaker Hastert a significantly larger suite of offices for as long as he wished.”
'My fear is the institution fell today,' McCarthy says after being toppled
Now-former Speaker McCarthy addressed reporters from Capitol Hill on Tuesday night where he looked back at his years in Republican leadership, touted his record -- and struck an optimistic if ambiguous note about his future.
"I believe I can continue to fight," McCarthy said, while noting that he will not run again for speaker after he lost a historic vote on the motion to vacate earlier in the day.
"My goals have not changed. My ability to fight is just in a different form," he said, later adding, "I'll never give up on the American people. That doesn't mean I have to be speaker."
McCarthy also swiped at the conservative rebels who ousted him from his role -- stressing that they were just 4% of the GOP conference -- and claimed that Gaetz was acting out of a personal sense of grievance in pushing him out, which Gaetz denies.
Despite the defeat he suffered from within his own party, McCarthy sounded largely sanguine about his political career.
Former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) speaks to reporters after he was ousted from the position of Speaker by a vote of the House of Representatives at the Capitol in Washington, Oct. 3, 2023.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
He contended that the Democratic minority deciding to vote against him had made a "political decision" that undercut the ability of the House to govern.
"My fear is the institution fell today," he said.
Still, in largely valedictory remarks, he pointed back to work to cut government spending, expand his party's base and increase their majority in Congress, including by electing more women and minorities.
"I feel fortunate to have served the American people," he insisted. "I leave the speakership with a sense of pride, accomplishment and, yes, optimism."
