ROANOKE, Va. – The U.S. House of Representatives needs to find a new speaker but for now, House remains in recess.
On Tuesday, the House voted 216 to 210 to remove California Republican Kevin McCarthy from his position as House Speaker. It was the first time in the country’s history that someone was ousted from the position.
The unprecedented removal of a speaker in the middle of a congressional session raised questions as to what will happen next and who will be selected to succeed McCarthy.
Among those who voted to remove McCarthy included Virginia Congressman Bob Good (R-VA 5th District).
“Most members of Congress just vote for whomever the party says to,” Good said. “But now we’ll have a contest, we’ll have a competition where all members are equal in terms of their opportunity to throw their hat in the ring.”
Congressman Ben Cline (R-VA 6th District) is calling on his colleagues to return to discussions in a video he posted Wednesday morning on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“It’s a beautiful Wednesday morning here in DC but unfortunately we’re out on recess. We should be in session right now doing the business of the people. We’ve got a new speaker to elect,” Cline said in the video.
It’s unclear how soon the Republican majority will begin the process. In January, when the 118th Congress convened and Republicans took power, it took 15 rounds of voting across four days for McCarthy to secure the support he needed to win the gavel.
Good is confident they can get the job done.
“Not one of us can choose a speaker. A handful of us can of course block a speaker. That’s why we’re going to have to work together and choose it,” Good said.
House Republicans are planning to gather on October 11 to hold internal elections to nominate the next speaker.