Amid House speaker drama, many in GOP want to do away with motion to vacate
The race is on to elect a new House speaker showdown following the historic ouster of Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday.
Two Republicans have officially thrown their hats into the ring ahead of the party hoping to choose a new leader next week.
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McHenry named interim speaker pro tempore
In the minutes after the motion to vacate against McCarthy, Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., was named as speaker pro tempore, an interim role to lead the chamber until another speaker is elected at a future point.
McHenry is a top McCarthy ally and chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.
He recessed the House for caucus meetings.
The Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy
Eight Republicans voted to take away McCarthy's gavel.
In addition to Gaetz, who introduced the motion to vacate, the following Republicans voted to oust McCarthy: Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Ken Buck of Colorado, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Eli Crane of Arizona, Bob Good of Virginia, Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Matt Rosendale of Arizona.
Every Democrat present also supported the motion to vacate.
House votes to remove McCarthy as speaker -- a historic first
In a 45-minute roll call vote, the House moved to oust McCarthy as speaker.
The final vote was 216 to 210 in favor of Gaetz's motion to vacate, with eight Republicans joining Democrats.
"The office of speaker of the House of the United States House of Representatives is hereby declared vacant," said presiding officer Rep. Steve Womack.
It is the first time in U.S. history that the speaker of the House has been booted from the post, putting the chamber in unprecedented territory.
Republican rebels appear to have the votes to remove McCarthy
Republican rebels appear to have enough votes to remove McCarthy as speaker, given that Democrats joined them, though the vote is ongoing.
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.”
Politico was the first to report the news.