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:
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.
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.
'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.
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."
-ABC News' Adam Carlson
Republicans eye speaker election next week as Scalise seems to emerge as early favorite
The House has canceled votes for the remainder of the week, according to Majority Whip Tom Emmer.
GOP sources say that Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry told party members during a Tuesday night conference meeting that the House is expected to recess until Oct. 10 -- and the plan is to hold a speaker candidate forum that day and then a vote for a permanent speaker on Oct. 11.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise appears to be emerging from the closed-door conference meeting as the front-runner to replace McCarthy.
Both House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik and Emmer indicated they're not running for speaker.
It's unclear if Scalise has enough support to succeed, but he spoke to reporters as he walked back to his office.
"We have a lot of work to get done, but I haven't made any formal announcement," Scalise, R-La., said.
"Clearly within our conference, we have a very tight majority," he acknowledged. "Getting things that done is going to be difficult in the tight majority. It's still will be so no matter who's going to be the next speaker, the challenges still remain, but I think the opportunity is there to continue moving forward."
Asked whether he is physically up to the job as speaker as he continues treatment for blood cancer, Scalise said, "I feel great."
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.