Sixth District congressional representative Andy Barr and the Fourth District’s Thomas Massie were vocal in their warnings against the action taken by the GOP-led House.
Ahead of the vote, Barr said that it “definitely puts the majority in jeopardy when you see disunity,” further calling the move “destructive.” Barr, who posted to Twitter that he was “proud to stand with Kevin McCarthy,” told reporters the now former speaker deserves credit, not condemnation.
"My message is... Republicans would not have the majority today if it was not for Speaker Kevin McCarthy," he said.
During the floor debate, Rep. Massie – who has at times allied with the right-wing Freedom Caucus – strongly argued against McCarthy’s removal. He warned the vote would doom efforts to revive what’s known as “regular order,” a set of rules and precedents for passing legislation through normal channels that has been lost in recent years as the parties have sought to circumvent the process.
"If regular order fails today, if you vacate the Speaker, nobody is going to try it again," Massie cautioned. "This institution will fail."
The final vote was 216-210, expelling the Speaker for the first time in U.S. history.
