In a historic move, McCarthy’s leadership ends after hard-right Republicans team up with Democrats to remove him.

Kevin McCarthy, the US House Speaker, was removed from his position on Tuesday, marking the first time in US history that a sitting House speaker has been ousted. The California Republican’s removal came after he had led a successful bipartisan effort to prevent a government shutdown just days before. However, McCarthy’s leadership was cut short by a motion to vacate the chair, spearheaded by Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz and backed by eight hard-right Republicans. This coalition, along with the support of 208 Democrats, succeeded in ousting McCarthy from his role.

McCarthy, unable to muster enough support within his own party, acknowledged that he would not seek to run for speaker again. As a result, the House is now left without leadership, halting its operations until a new speaker is chosen. Republicans are scheduled to hold a vote for a new speaker on Wednesday, following a closed-door meeting on October 10 to discuss potential candidates.

The ouster marks a significant blow for McCarthy, who faced deep divisions within his party during his brief and tumultuous tenure as speaker. His removal underscores the ongoing disarray within the Republican Party, which now faces the difficult task of unifying its ranks to elect a successor.