Kevin McCarthy’s sacking deepens the chaos in American government
And Republicans have made supporting Ukraine harder
Kevin McCarthy’s stint as speaker of America’s House of Representatives ended the way it had begun: in utterly humiliating fashion. On October 3rd members of the lower chamber of Congress disposed of their leader for the first time in American history. Despite earning support from 210 of the 221 House Republicans, eight hardliners teamed up with 208 Democrats to fire Mr McCarthy. Shortly thereafter the former speaker announced that he would not try to regain the title. The coming weeks are likely to be chaotic, and the results of this chapter of congressional dysfunction will reverberate far beyond Capitol Hill.
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This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “You’re fired!”
United States October 7th 2023
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From the October 7th 2023 edition
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