For the first time in United States history, the speaker of the House was ousted after eight House Republicans and all Democrats voted to vacate the speakership Tuesday.
While Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) removal as speaker was historic, it was not the first time that a motion to vacate was brought against a speaker. Until Tuesday, there had not been a vote to vacate the speaker’s chair since 1910, nor had one ever been successful.
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Despite only two attempts to vacate, here are the instances in which a motion to vacate the speaker’s chair was introduced, voted on, or considered.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt is shown receiving applause after signing the Muscle Shoals Bill, May 18, 1933. Behind him, from left, are: Rep. John J. McSwain of South Carolina; Sen. Kenneth D. McKellar of Tennessee; Rep. Samuel Davis McReynolds of Tennessee; Reps. William Bacon Oliver and Lister Hill, both of Alabama; and Sen. G …