Kevin McCarthy played a significant role in establishing the Republican majority, which ultimately led to his downfall.

WASHINGTON — The day before he was ousted, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was doing what he loved – stopping to greet tourists at the Capitol, gushing about the beauty of the place and its history at the center of American democracy.

On Wednesday, McCarthy‘s House was shuttered, his Republican majority in chaos and unable to legislate for the foreseeable future, with grave ramifications for the U.S. experiment in governing.

During a period of uncertainty both domestically and internationally, the Congress is unable to operate effectively without a Speaker of the House, who holds the second-highest position in the presidential line of succession. This hinders their ability to pass legislation, allocate funds for the government, and fulfill their role as the branch of government that is most connected to the people.

Matthew Green, a Congress expert at Catholic University, stated that the legislative branch is crucial for any democratic government as it plays a vital role.

“If there is no speaker, there is a genuine danger.”

For McCarthy, it’s the end of the arc of his political career, from running a sandwich counter in Bakersfield, California, to the pinnacle of power, only to have his downfall engineered by the hard-right Republican lawmakers he once recruited to Congress but ultimately could not tame.

In a ruthless demonstration of partisan politics, Democrats exacerbated the suffering and eagerly contributed to his removal.

“Prior to the vote, Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat from Virginia, stated that he had taken responsibility for his actions.”

McCarthy is no bystander to the turmoil that so often defined his tenure in Congress, and in fact he was an early architect of the new Republican Party that has almost fully replaced what once was.

In office for nearly 20 years, McCarthy played a pivotal role in the 2010 election that sent a new generation of “ tea party ” Republicans to take control of the House. He was the campaign chairman who recruited the dozens of conservative newcomers who swept to power.

McCarthy’s expertise in fundraising and ability to identify exceptional candidates made him the successful strategist for the party. He successfully expanded the Republican ranks, even if it involved electing individuals with strong conservative views.

Part of the trio of “Young Guns” with Majority Leader Eric Cantor and future Speaker Paul Ryan, McCarthy and his political operation were crucial for the party as he crisscrossed the country with an extensive base of connections to wealthy donors.

During that time, there were indications of a party cleansing that persists till now, raising uncertainty about the potential leader for House Republicans.

Former Speaker John Boehner attempted but was unsuccessful in gathering the recently conservative faction, facing challenges such as a U.S. debt default crisis, a lengthy government shutdown, and a fiscal cliff that caused anxiety throughout the country. Ultimately, he was forced into early retirement by the same threat that would later affect McCarthy.

At that time, Mark Meadows, a Republican congressman who headed the Freedom Caucus and later became President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, was Boehner’s main opponent. Meadows submitted a “motion to vacate,” a procedural action that had been forgotten in political history.

Instead of taking the chance of being forcefully removed, Boehner decided to abruptly leave, leaving everyone stunned.

McCarthy, a Republican from California, was never perceived as an ideologue. Instead, he presented himself as a Reagan Republican, belonging to a cohort that grew up during Ronald Reagan’s presidency and was enthralled by a more optimistic portrayal of the American journey.

That lack of a firm ideological footing in far-right politics cost McCarthy the speaker’s gavel when he first reached for it, after Boehner’s ouster in 2015, as fellow Republican lawmakers viewed him as insufficiently conservative at best. Others viewed him as operating without a political compass.

He abandoned the speaker’s race to Ryan, who was chased from the office a few short years later as he came up against the right flank during the Trump era.

“On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer stated that all three individuals were pursued and forced to leave.”

“I cannot reword”

When Speaker Nancy Pelosi took charge, the Republicans became the minority. However, McCarthy took the initiative to gather the 2020 Republican class and regain control of the House, positioning himself for the speaker’s role in yet another significant moment in history.

However, McCarthy faced a fierce battle of 15 votes during the initial week of the new Congress in January in order to secure the support of his own hesitant Republican Party and assume the role of speaker. This incident foreshadowed his eventual removal from the position.

With just a slim majority hold, a handful of hard-right holdouts forced him to make concessions for the gavel, including the ability to more easily remove him from office.

However, McCarthy appeared to have undergone a transformation after a prolonged period and assumed the position of a speaker. He adapted well to his new role, with his steadfast belief in never giving up.

His suits appeared sharper, his sunny demeanor more pronounced, the flashes of anger subdued as he ambled through the halls.

In his element, McCarthy would open the House chamber, making a point to stop and chat with visitors along the way – at times even setting up a photo line for those who swarmed to snap pictures.

From the beginning, he was not given enough credit, but he managed to come through unexpectedly during two critical instances. He successfully negotiated a debt agreement with President Joe Biden to prevent default and also averted a government shutdown last weekend, despite the significant threat to his position.

McCarthy had become the magnanimous “Man in the Arena,” as he liked to think of himself – the portrait of Teddy Roosevelt hanging with that of Reagan in his suite of speaker’s offices at the Capitol.

“I respond in kind,” he jokingly remarked on the evening he was removed.

However, similar to his predecessors, McCarthy was unable to compete with the growing influence of the conservative faction that now controls the Republican Party.

A handful of hardliners led by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., blocked McCarthy in January from becoming House speaker, and many of them cast the votes Tuesday on the “motion to vacate” to remove the speaker – with the government shutdown deal the latest complaint against him.

In the end, even individuals like Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., who had previously received financial support from McCarthy’s campaign, also ended up opposing him.

Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, offered a single suggestion to the future House speaker: Eliminate the motion to vacate.

“He stated that it renders the speaker’s task unattainable. The citizens of America anticipate us to possess an operational administration.”

McCarthy expressed strong resentment towards his adversaries and hinted at utilizing his significant campaign funds in upcoming elections to challenge them, as he aims to guide the Republican Party towards a previous version of its identity.

“I cannot reword.”

McCarthy had felt a strong sense of accomplishment in resuming the operations of the House this year following the closures caused by the pandemic and the January 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol – a place he often referred to as the people’s House.

However, after serving for only nine months, which is one of the shortest terms as a speaker in history, the leader who previously claimed he would never resign, went back on his word and announced that he would not attempt to regain the position as the House concluded its activities.