Republican Admits Ousting McCarthy Has Turned Into 'Unmitigated Disaster'

The failed impeachment vote against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has earned ousted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy some rare praise.

"Getting rid of Speaker McCarthy has officially turned into an unmitigated disaster," Republican Representative Thomas Massie said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

"All work on separate spending bills has ceased," he continued. "Spending reductions have been traded for spending increases. Warrantless spying has been temporarily extended. Our majority has shrunk."

Massie, who had often butted heads with McCarthy during his speakership, backed the California Republican during his struggle to gain the gavel in January 2023 and warned last fall that ousting him would be "a bad idea that will lead to worse outcomes for conservatives."

The far-right faction of the House GOP had celebrated Mike Johnson's accession to the speakership after McCarthy was ousted in October, expressing hope that McCarthy's successor would be a stronger advocate for conservative values. As speaker, McCarthy repeatedly heard criticism that his bipartisan record represented more moderate views. A motion to vacate the post was introduced after McCarthy struck a government spending deal with President Joe Biden.

However, even with the gavel in Johnson's hands, House Republicans have struggled to deliver on their biggest promises, including the impeachment of Mayorkas. Their razor-thin majority in the chamber means they can afford to lose only three votes on any party-line measure, assuming full attendance. On Tuesday, three GOP defectors halted Republican efforts to impeach Mayorkas over his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border crisis.

When one social media user pushed back on Massie's remarks and argued that ousting McCarthy was the right move, Massie responded, "Name one thing that's improved under the new Speaker."

Others appeared to agree with Massie.

"Seems like it might have been a mistake to oust McCarthy and Santos," one user wrote in response to a tweet urging voters to complain to the offices of the three GOP lawmakers who voted against the Mayorkas impeachment. GOP Representative George Santos was expelled from the House in December, with 105 Republicans voting in favor of his expulsion.

"Face it, replacing McCarthy was a huge mistake," another user told conservative commentator Ann Coulter after she blamed those three votes for the failed impeachment.

Some conservatives, however, said that removing McCarthy was still the right move, suggesting that the former speaker had issues of his own that compromised his ability to lead.

"He's the loser who quit. Which proves he only cared about his personal power and not the country," popular X account @Catturd said. "And the less the Congress does, the better it is for our country. We know what's next, Ukraine spending, Israel spending, and the Republicans caving on everything that matters to the USA."

Another user wrote: "Kevin quit. He took his ball and went home. Taking out Santos was a masochistic move by the GOP. The GOP as a whole suck. Kevin did this to himself and us."

"Nonetheless, it was the right thing to do," a third responded to Massie. "To choose the best path, sometimes one must step backward for a better view of all choices."

McCarthy resigned from Congress at the end of last year, two months after his historic ousting as speaker.