The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday afternoon voted against killing a measure that would remove Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his post, setting the stage for a vote on it later in the day.
There were 208 votes in favor of tabling the measure, or rejecting consideration of it, compared with 218 votes against that.
Earlier in the day, McCarthy said his chamber would be voting Tuesday on removing him from his post, adding that he expected to weather the action.
“I’m confident I’ll hold on,” the speaker told reporters.
But there were signs that his speakership was in peril, as House Democrats indicated they wouldn’t help him fend off the challenge that’s being led by a fellow Republican, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida.
“We are following our leader, and we are not saving Kevin McCarthy,” said Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington state, who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, referring to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Jeffries, a New York Democrat, said in a letter to his colleagues that House Democratic leadership would vote yes on what’s known as a “motion to vacate.”
Gaetz late Monday filed the motion to vacate after McCarthy relied on House Democrats to pass a short-term funding measure Saturday that averted a partial government shutdown.
In order to work, Gaetz’s motion to remove McCarthy as speaker needs the backing of a majority of the House, where Republicans have a slim edge. The Florida congressman said on Sunday that he expected Democrats were “going to bail out Kevin McCarthy,” meaning support him enough to offset the opposition from Gaetz and some other Republicans, but the vote on Tuesday afternoon may not play out that way.
There has been a view among analysts that a divided Washington’s spending might not change that much even if Gaetz manages to oust McCarthy, as MarketWatch has reported. About 80% of Congress looks likely to vote for a spending deal that would call for some increases in outlays, Ukraine aid, money for the U.S.-Mexico border and a new commission on the nation’s debt, said Chris Krueger, managing director at TD Cowen’s Washington Research Group, in a note. That agreement would come around when a new deadline of Nov. 17 hits.
A motion to vacate was filed in July 2015 against then-Speaker John Boehner and not voted on by the House at that time, but Boehner went on to announce his resignation in September 2015. Such a motion also was used unsuccessfully in 1910 against then-Speaker Joseph Cannon, and it was considered in 1997 but ultimately not used by a small group of House Republicans who had grown disgruntled with the leadership of then-Speaker Newt Gingrich.
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