AP photo Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., speaks to reporters hours after he was ousted as Speaker of the House, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023, at the Capitol in Washington.

Thompson, R-Bellafonte and Warren County’s representative in the House, was unwilling to do so Tuesday when eight Republicans joined with Democrats in the House to remove McCarthy as speaker. The House finds itself in the midst of several policy discussions, including avoiding a shutdown of the federal government and a new Farm Bill, which Thompson finds himself heavily involved in as leader of the House Committee on Agriculture. Thompson did not speak during the floor debate.

“Today’s vote was nothing but a distraction from a handful of shameless self-promoters,” Thompson said. “Their form of demagoguery doesn’t work without a foil. Now, they’ll have no one to blame but themselves.”

The vote made McCarthy the first speaker in history to be removed from office. The California Republican served less than nine months on the job. According to an Associated Press report, McCarthy invoked Republican Speaker Joseph Cannon, who more than 100 years ago confronted his critics head-on by calling their bluff and setting the vote himself on his ouster. Cannon survived that takedown attempt, which was the first time the House had actually voted to consider removing its speaker. A more recent threat against John Boehner in 2015 didn’t make it to a vote but led him to early retirement.

After the meeting, Republicans argued publicly among themselves for more than an hour on the House floor before the vote.

Times Observer file photo House Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson is pictured during a recent visit to Warren County.

Thompson voted 15 times for McCarthy during days of voting on a speaker earlier this year and in a Facebook post on Monday credited McCarthy with helping cut trillions of dollars in spending, streamlining energy permitting, reforming welfare programs to increase job access and helping pass legislation aimed at decreasing crime.

“Kevin McCarthy has already shown signs of being a great Speaker,” Thompson said in January, both in advancing legislation and “empowering us to lead with conservative effective solutions for the families of this country.”

Nothing can be done in the House until next week, when work will begin to choose a new speaker. It is unclear who House Republicans will nominate to be the new speaker, though McCarthy has said he won’t run for the position again.