These 8 Republicans stood apart to remove Kevin McCarthy as House speaker

WASHINGTON — Rep. Kevin McCarthy had support from 208 members of his conference to remain as House speaker. But it took only eight dissenters in his party to boot him from the job.

A handful of Republicans joined with Democrats to make history as McCarthy became the first speaker in U.S. history to be voted out of the position by his colleagues.

Most of the eight have never been members of the McCarthy fan club. They chafed at the deal McCarthy made with President Joe Biden to avoid a federal default. They voted against the bill Congress passed Saturday to keep the federal government operating at current funding levels through mid-November.

Most are also fiscal hardliners who opposed McCarthy’s candidacy for speaker early on. But, McCarthy, soon after announcing he would not seek to run again for the speaker’s job, countered that he did not view the eight as conservatives.

“They don’t get to say they’re conservative because they’re angry and they’re chaotic,” McCarthy said. “That’s not the party I belong to. The party of Reagan was if you believed in your principles, that you could govern in a conservative way. They are not conservative and they do not have the right to have the title.”

While each has their reasons, the eight lawmakers generally voiced frustration with how McCarthy has moved priority legislation through the chamber, namely spending bills. Some have also described him as untrustworthy and failing to living up to various agreements he made to become speaker back in January, something he hotly disputed Tuesday when he announced he would not seek the post again.

A look at the eight Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy from office, against the overwhelming wishes of their colleagues.

REP. ANDY BIGGS

Biggs is serving his fourth term in the House representing a…