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.
Latest headlines:
Democrats don't plan to save McCarthy's speakership
During a more than two-hour caucus meeting, Democrats were strongly encouraged to vote to not support Speaker McCarthy as he fights for his job, sources tell ABC News.
"It is now the responsibility of the GOP members to end the House Republican Civil War," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement. "Given their unwillingness to break from MAGA extremism in an authentic and comprehensive manner, House Democratic leadership will vote yes on the pending Republican Motion to Vacate the Chair."
Several Democrats said they don't plan to bail McCarthy out.
"We're not voting in any way that would help save speaker McCarthy," Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said.
Vice Chair of House Democratic caucus Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., said, "the leadership put out the facts and the caucus heard from a lot of members… we need a functioning government and speaker McCarthy has shown he cannot govern."
Has an effort to remove a House speaker ever succeeded?
A motion to vacate has only ever been voted on once, in 1910, in an effort to boot then-Speaker Joseph Cannon. The effort failed.
In 2015, then-Rep. Mark Meadows filed a resolution to force a vote on then-Speaker John Boehner’s leadership. But because Meadows didn’t introduce it on the House floor, it wasn’t taken up for consideration.
While history shows previous such efforts over the years have always failed -- it's possible this one could succeed.
Read more from ABC News' Tal Axelrod here.
Republican senators share their outrage at McCarthy's removal
Senate Republicans are overwhelmingly admonishing their House colleagues for allowing McCarthy's speakership to be vacated, calling it a "sad day."
Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said ousting McCarthy was a "disgraceful" move by a small group of House conservatives.
"These insurgents have no plan," Cornyn said. "And now they've created even more chaos and it's not good for the House, it's not good for Republicans," he said.
A visibly miffed Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi agreed: "It stinks, and it's bad for the country."
Republicans are the minority party in the Senate. With a much more favorable map on the horizon in 2024, some now worry the dysfunction in the House will be a distraction for voters.
-ABC News' Allison Pecorin