If Kevin McCarthy is ousted as Speaker of the House, the following could happen:
- A temporary speaker would take over until a new speaker is elected.
- The House could proceed directly to the election of a new speaker or decide to hold it at a later time.
- There is no time frame that the House must follow to elect a new speaker, but as a practical matter, the House will want to elect a new speaker quickly in order for the chamber to move forward with its legislative business.
- The first person on McCarthys succession list would serve in the role temporarily until a new speaker is elected.
- If McCarthy is removed, the House would be paralyzed until a successor is elected.
- The Republicans’ slim majority means McCarthy has little chance of surviving without at least some help from Democrats. They could vote against McCarthy’s removal, vote “present” — neither yes nor no — or skip the process entirely to lower the threshold of votes he needs to survive.
