By Charles R. Hunt
The House of Representatives on Oct. 3, 2023, did something that had never been done before in the nation’s history: It ousted the speaker of the House. Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, lost his job in a vote of 216 to 210. To look deeper than the surface machinations, The Conversation U.S. spoke with political scientist Charles R. Hunt at Boise State University.
He offers a sense of what this historic development might mean for the government at the moment, as well as for American democracy over the longer term.
What does the ouster say about the House’s ability to function, such as to pass a new budget in the next 45 days?
It’s important to remember what the purpose of the speaker of the House is: to literally speak for the entire House, to guide legislation through. It’s an unruly chamber of 435 members.
So what you need, ideally, is someone who has the trust of the chamber – particularly of their own party, since the majority party at least traditionally has unilateral control over the business of the House. So both trust and party discipline are conducive to a smoothly functioning legislative process.
When Americans think of a functioning democracy, they might think of bills getting passed on time, of Congress getting things done. But voters of all party affiliations are frustrated by the gridlock here, particularly over the past decade or two.
The interesting thing about this situation with the speakership is that gridlock has traditionally been between the two parties. Right now, it’s within one party.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Do House members want to do what the public wants them to do – get things done?
Americans say they don’t want to be focusing on these fights. But there are members of Congress for whom these fights are really important to how they represent — like Florida Republican Matt Gaetz — who hail from very Republican districts and have staked their reputations on fighting establishment figures in their own party like Kevin McCarthy. Likewise, many Democrats back in 2019 or 2020, when they held the majority in the House, felt they had a responsibility to their mostly Democratic constituents to bring the fight to President Donald Trump.
For some in the GOP, there is also this ideology of smaller government, less spending, lowering the national debt – the more typical conservative Republican priorities. They are not new, but there is now this sense that being anti-establishment, and trying to wield power to its greatest possible extent, is a goal in itself.
Some voters have looked at how the House has operated over the past couple of decades and thought, “we don’t want any more of that.” So they are willing to put their trust in the hands of some of these people who want to, figuratively at least, burn the place down – even if there is no clear exit strategy for what happens next. The lack of a plan after McCarthy’s ouster seems to show that obstruction is kind of the point.
How can people understand these events in the context of America’s system of representative democracy?
Gaetz has been saying he doesn’t like the process, that he wants to go back to “regular order,” in which budget proposals are voted on separately, instead of in huge omnibus spending bills. He and others just see that the way the House is conducting its business is not working. In Congress, those concerns are mainly coming from the far left and far right. They relate to the increasing polarization in this country, and Congress mirrors that growing division.
Democrats are getting more progressive, and Republicans in particular are getting more conservative over time. This is in part because districts are becoming more and more safe for one party or the other. So the average district is less likely to produce a moderate member of Congress. That increases the influence of party primaries. The voters who participate in these elections tend to be pretty ideologically extreme Republicans and Democrats who don’t want to see their representatives working with the other side.
And the more polarized the country gets, the more you see this element of negative partisanship, where a representative’s voters are more driven by how much their candidate is willing to fight against the other side, rather than how much they’re getting done for their own side.
Why isn’t this kind of drama happening in the Senate?
The cultures of the two institutions are really different, even today. George Washington is said to have described the House as a cup of hot tea that was going to overflow with the passions of the “common people,” and the Senate would be the saucer that would catch that overflow.
This session, both institutions are living up to those reputations.
The first reason is that House districts are smaller. They can be drawn in very specific ways and gerrymandered and are more subject to geographic sorting, so you end up with really extreme districts, politically.
Whereas in the Senate, they represent whole states. They typically have to represent a lot more people than a House district, a much broader constituency. That can lead to adopting a more consensus-driven tone.
The rules of the Senate are also much more consensus-driven. Rules like the filibuster and Unanimous Consent Agreements can force more moderate senators to work together to reach a kind of consensus.
Plus, because it’s a smaller body, there is generally more collegiality. These senators know each other better, and so even between the parties you get people teaming up on legislative proposals a lot more often.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Finally, Senate leadership is less powerful. Mitch McConnell, when he was the majority leader, wielded a great amount of procedural power, and Chuck Schumer does now, but much less than the speaker does in the House. This creates a lot of the friction in the House between leadership and rank and file that you don’t typically see in the Senate.
What are the key differences that help explain how these different House members are behaving?
This is the big question Americans ask: Why on Earth does Congress do any of the things it does?
It may not seem like it, but members of Congress have incentives for doing what they do. There are the incentives of Congress as a whole. There are the incentives of the two parties, which is why they meet in their conferences and caucuses to strategize.
But individual members also face very different pressures in their different districts, even if they’re in the same party. Consider Gaetz, whose district Trump won by almost 40 points. He faces no serious challenge in a general election against a Democrat because it’s mostly Republicans in the district. The only race that really matters in this district is the primary.
By contrast, think of a moderate Republican from New York in a district that Joe Biden won by four or five points. This person understands that to get reelected, they need some critical mass of independents and maybe even some Democrats to support them.
Ultimately, the only constituency that any member of Congress must be responsive to is the one in their district. In political science, we call it dyadic representation. It’s a pairing, a dialogue, between a member and their constituents. And that is ultimately what they are thinking about, or, at least, they should be thinking about if they want to get reelected. This is how you get these divergent approaches to governing.
Charles R. Hunt is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Boise State University<./em>
Trying to make sense of it all says
Great article– thanks!
The dude says
MAGA did to American Politics what it does to everything it touches, left it broke and unable to function.
The sooner the gerontocracy hands over the reins of power the better. Boomers have had their time, and the world literally burns because of it.
Time for some fresh thinking, 20th century thinking just won’t cut it here in the 21st century. Time for some leaders that don’t need help from a grandchild to use their iPads.
John says
What a bunch of dysfunctional misfits, they have no business trying to run our country. They can’t even control their own party, that Donald and his foot soldiers did a great job at destroying.
Wise up and Vote Blue the party of the people and the rule of law.
Jackson says
I hope the Democrats keep holding tight, not get involved, and let the Republicans clean up their own mess which the Democrats know they can’t do at this point. They also know that this republican infighting, backstabbing, Trump cultism and corruption is costing the Republicans dearly up and down the ballot. If the Republicans don’t get their act together in the next few months they’ll be in the back seat in both houses, and the presidency after the next election.
dave says
What these GOP far right wingers want is a Trump thinking, acting person ( clown) as the Speaker of The House. Our Congress is so fractured on both sides.
Denali says
“Time for some leaders that don’t need help from a grandchild to use their iPads.” Bet you cannot use an abacus or a slide rule.
Bill C says
The Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer (Matt Gaetz) was the one who offered the motion to vacate the chair on the House floor, to oust McCarthy. Gaetz is the one who needs to get thrown out of office.
Laurel says
Denali: He loves to blame others for his own situation. It also gives him a chance to be bigoted and not get shit for it.
Laurel says
Jackson: I’m an Independent, but I know why the Republicans hate Nancy Pelosi: she is a woman, and she knows how to keep her group in check.
TR says
IMO this is the most ridiculous comment ever made that I’m LOL.
GeekyGuruGod says
As a Gen X’er with a Master of Science in CompSci, I cannot believe how clueless most Gen Z’ers really are with technology. Oh wow, so they can use a phone to watch Tik Tok. Wish I could hire one that could help me manage my million dollar Hyper Converged Infrastructure and actually write a decent SQL query.
jake says
One, you’re not an independent, this is an observation based on every post you have ever commented, and your hatred for Trump. Two, no one, and I mean NO ONE, cares what gender, color or which God someone believes in as to what their leadership skills are. Nancy Pelosi had the only thing that counts as to how she controlled her “group”, and that is MONEY. I will admit, no matter how wrong Democrats are about everything, they stick together. If they were on the Titanic, and disagreed with the fact the ship was sinking, they would all go down together. The current “Republican” party is a clown show, which I know, makes you smile.
Hey says
You sound like you are just when judging people on their skills. However, not everyone is. Many folks DO judge on sex (sexism), age (ageism), race (racism), etc. I’ve worked in places where people do, been a patron where people do– you are part of our future but we are not there yet! I hope it comes to fruition!
Every generation has flaws says
you forgot millennials!
Robert Joseph Fortier says
I’ll second that…
Judith Michaud says
Perfectly stated ! When will the people learn ?
Deborah Coffey says
“Two, no one, and I mean NO ONE, cares what gender, color or which God someone believes in as to what their leadership skills are. Nancy Pelosi had the only thing that counts as to how she controlled her “group”, and that is MONEY.”
Jake, I don’t know how old you are but, I think you know that this part of your comment is complete nonsense. One, TONS, and I mean TONS, of people care what gender, color or which God someone believes in when they are assessing leadership skills. You didn’t witness the hatred of Nancy Pelosi across the country, and on January 6th, and the vicious physical attack on her husband? Two, I hope you’re not too young to be this cynical. Nancy Pelosi is one of the finest leaders ever in our House of Representatives. She’ll be written about that way in the history books to come. Three, thank you for that last sentence. It made me smile for the first time this week.
Laurel says
TR and RJF: Change the channel. They’re lying to you.
You both just showed how little you know about how things are run.
Laurel says
Jake: You are full of assumptions.
I don’t hate Trump, but I am very concerned about what he is doing to this country, by examples of his treasonous behavior. Republicans have always been wary of Russia, but now, they have begun to side with Russia because of Trump. People have to have the government protect them from comments by Trump, and the nutcases who follow him. The things he says are so incredibly stupid that I wonder just how stupid a large portion of this country is. 91 counts in four different districts. He is very dangerous, and belongs in prison.
It is interesting that you think there is no such thing as bigotry in this country considering all the nonsense that is going on now. News to many.
Yes, the current Republicans are a clown show, but I’m not smiling. This is nothing to smile about. My husband is a lifelong Republican and he’s not smiling either. It’s been a party long acknowledgement that Republicans don’t eat their own, and now, just recently, they snack down regularly. This is not the GOP. This is the Party of Trump. The biggest grifter of all times! The Trumpers keep yelling about they are the followers of the Constitution, and their foul leader wants to get rid of it. People think he represents them while he belittles them. My God, he has a picture of him scowling in court with Jesus, also scowling, beside him. How can anyone see him other than disgusting?
No, I don’t hate Trump. He is, however, one of the worst things that have ever happened to this country and I think it’s sad that anyone finds him worthy of anything other than entertainment.
Sherry says
@jake. . . yet again, you are only capable of posting fear and hate filled FOX BS. Post credible factual evidence that Nancy Pelosi “controlled her group with money” or we will all continue to know that you are a brainwashed buffon. Yes, she is good at “legally” raising money for the Democratic party, so what?
When the Pelosi lead bipartisan House of Representatives “rightly” impeached trump, his fund raising went through the roof. Much of that money contributed by trump’s mindless cult followers benefitted trump “personally” because it went for his legal defence. I’m guessing that’s OK with you since you are most certainly one of the mindless FOX/trump cult members yourself!
Sherry says
To those of you who simply “label as trump haters” anyone who does not think a person who has been “IMPEACHED TWICE”, and who is under “MULTIPLE CRIMINAL INDICTMENTS” should be President. . . what in the world has happened to your thinking ability and your moral compass?
Please, for the love of our country, for the love of yourself, for the love of your family, for the love of future generations. . . do whatever you need to do to regain your thinking and reasoning ability. Do whatever you need to do to regain your sense of “right and wrong”, of “law and order”, of “truth and justice”.
Think about it this way . . . What if President Obama/President Biden/Nancy Pelosi had those multiple federal and state indictments against them? Would you simply look away and give them a pass? Hell No! Neither would I!!! Senator Menendez most certainly should not be given as pass!
Why? Why? Why? are “you” giving trump a pass???
Dennis C Rathsam says
Geez All I see here is TRUMP this & TRUMP that!!! How could it be with all that hate, and malace, you democrats cant get him out of your mind. If the sky would fall tomorrow you all will blame TRUMP. You all have a short memory! Before the China Flu, the economy took off with TRUMPS tax cuts 3% interest rates, people could afford to buy a house. Today its more than doubled. Now 1st time buyers cant buy… Bidenomics…. TRUMPS gas was $2.o9 Bidens $ 6.79 today in Irving Ca. Now after Bidens invaders start to eat away the foundation of this country with sex trafficing, drugs, terrorists, and dont fogert all those crazys they let out of jail. What diseases did they bring with them? Why are they sleeping on the streets of every democratic city? Wheres Bidens plan? Gonna get real cold on them streets in the winter…a little rain… a little snow…. Still waiting for Bidens plan….Americas are pissed, more & more each day watching their cities destroyed. Look at the protest in Chicago yesterday. Americans are revolting. This will be the downfall of Joe Biden if he makes it to Nov. Did you see the latest polls? TRUMPS ahead by 10 pts ( Washington Post, ABC & CNN ) I know you dont believe it!!! Look it up. I cant help it if the thruth hurts!
Sherry says
@dennis. . . again and again your warped bottom line is “cheaper is better ‘ . . . even if it takes CORRUPT and CRIMINAL actions to make that happen! Even if “billionaires” are laughing all the way to the bank while making complete fools out of millions of our citizens.
trump didn’t “start” the mindless, immoral cult that is a grave danger to our democracy. . . Rupert Murdoch’s extreme right wing, fascist media empire first brainwashed the multitude of the weak minded for 20 years.
trump just happened to be smart enough to know he could further “dupe” the FOX zombies. He stepped in and took the reins of a dictatorship in the making. And, his duped fools continue to support a teasonist criminal against all reason!
A fascist, white only, Walmart world filled with fear and hate filled gunslingers just may be “your” idea of heaven, but it certainly is not mine!
endless dark money says
Facism takes hold in late stage capitalism. Who would of thought that being for profit everything woulnt hold up for too long. Healthcare, justice, politics they only care about made up money. Id say go protest but they will just make you a criminal for doing that, so just get back to work.
Dennis C Rathsam says
Like I said your obsesed, and full of hate….At least you didnt blame TRUMP, I very rarely shop at Wal-Mart. Please pour you self a jigger or two of Jack Daniels & repent! Why do you continue to lie? Your democratic dream is busting at the seams. One folly after another… Now we have Isrealies being kill by the guns & bullets left in Afganastan. By WHO?????? Joe Biden has more blood on his greedy hands.
Sherry says
@dennis. . . clearly, you are simply NOT capable of a civil discussion of the credible facts regarding governmental politics.
Regarding, the Jack Daniels/lying remark. . . certainly that kind of behavior is much more your area of expertise. Time to dive back into FOX/Newsmax/Breitbart, dennis. . . your vitriol level is running low! LOL! LOL! LOL!
Sherry says
@dennis. . . Oh, and by the way. . . thank so much for proving my point about trump brainwashed loyalists!
Feverishly scraping the bottom of the barrel for any scrap of a mistake by President Biden, while completely ignoring proven corrupt and criminal activity by trump is nothing short of “pathetic”!
Don’t forget that “rent money” that you need to contribute to trump’s legal defense fund, now. LOL! LOL! LOL!
Philip says
Jake, this comment you made:
“Two, no one, and I mean NO ONE, cares what gender, color or which God someone believes in as to what their leadership skills are.” is one of the most naive comments I’ve ever read. Do you really believe that?
Also, you should know that not all members of any political group think alike. Not Repubs or Dems or Greens, etc. It just a category name.
But, importantly , think about your statement quoted above. You’ll be wiser for it.
Philip says
I don’t hate Trump either…but he does disgust me. I have never witnessed such a selfish, self-centered person…and for YEARS…prior to his election. He does anything to anybody to get his hands on money and feed his self indulgence, Just disgusting.