After Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was historically ousted from the House speakership position, Republicans began making moves.
According to Breitbart, within hours of McCarthy's ouster, House Speaker pro-tempore Patrick McHenry (R-NC) took revenge on several high-profile House Democrats.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was immediately kicked out of her hideaway office at the Capitol, which was offered to her as a courtesy by previous House leadership.
She wasn't the only high-profile Democrat to lose their special accommodations, as Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the second most powerful House Democrat, was also evicted from his special hideaway office.
McHenry wasted absolutely no time in informing Pelosi and Hoyer that they would no longer have their special hideaways.
Breitbart noted:
McHenry notified Pelosi of the eviction by email, Politico reported. “Please vacate the space tomorrow, the room will be re-keyed,” the email read, noting it was reassigned “for speaker office use.”
The revenge came as McCarthy took aim at Pelosi for failing to hold up her end of the agreement. She apparently promised to “back” McCarthy if the motion to vacate was used against him.
PELOSI HIDEAWAY OFFICE: Republican Congressman Patrick McHenry, the acting speaker of the House, has ordered Rep. Nancy Pelosi to vacate her Capitol hideaway office. MORE: https://t.co/3g2bDT39Qi pic.twitter.com/43Kg0ipzHz
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) October 5, 2023
McCarthy, during a press conference after he was removed from the speakership, explained that Pelosi promised to back him should a motion to vacate ever be called to the floor.
"Interesting, it was in this room, after we had won the majority and I had become speaker, Nancy Pelosi came to me, she was speaker at the time on the way out, and I told her I was having issues with getting enough votes,” McCarthy recalled. "And she said, ‘What’s the problem?’ I said, ‘They want this one person can rule you out.'"
"I had the power to call the vote on her, but I never would. I lost some votes because of it," McCarthy said, noting her promise to return the favor. "She said, ‘Just give it to them. I will always back you up. I made the same offer to [John] Boehner, and the same thing to Paul [Ryan], because I believe in the institution.'"
It didn't take long after McCarthy was removed for several House Republicans to toss their names in the proverbial hat to gather support for a run for the gavel.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), two well-liked, high-profile GOP lawmakers, both announced their intention to run for the leadership position.
Some House Republicans expressed their interest in seeing former President Donald Trump taking the job. Trump, on Thursday, said he'd step in as speaker for a short period of time while Republicans determined a permanent leader.
Only time will tell who fills McCarthy's spot.
