House Speaker ousted, avoiding government shutdown: What’s been happening in the nation’s capital

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The U.S. House of Representatives voted to oust Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House after 269 days on the job.

Congressman Greg Stanton from District 4 joined Arizona Horizon to discuss what’s been happening in the nation’s capital.

“It’s a sad, solemn time. This is the first time in United States history that there has been the vacating of the office of the speaker,” Stanton said.

The decision to oust McCarthy as House Speaker was started by Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz. He was joined by eight other Republicans and as a result, McCarthy was removed as speaker by a 216-210 vote.

The U.S. House of Representatives must now elect a new speaker and in the meantime, it can’t conduct any legislative work.

Representative Stanton was one of the 208 House Democrats who voted to oust McCarthy as House Speaker.

“This speaker has overseen a chaotic, hyperpartisan Congress during his nine months in office, always seeking to appease the most extreme elements in his party instead of working in a bipartisan way,” Stanton said.

One of the main reasons Republican hard-liners decided to remove McCarthy was that he worked with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown.

A government shutdown was prevented after Congress passed a stopgap funding measure before the critical midnight deadline. It will keep the government open for 45 days.

However, the measure does not include funding for Ukraine, a sticking point for many in the GOP.

The main question is who will be appointed the new House Speaker.

“We know the next speaker is probably going to be a Republican,” said Stanton. “The Republicans have the majority but let’s pick one, a leader, that knows that in order to get things done, you’re going to have to reach across the aisle and sincerely work in a bipartisan way,” Stanton said.

Rep. Greg Stanton (D), District 4

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