For the first time in American History, a Speaker of the House has been ousted from their position. Republican California representative Kevin McCarthy was voted out of his position because he was allegedly working with democrats in Congress to prevent a national shutdown; this angered a few far-right Republicans who barely garnered enough support to oust McCarthy, with the final vote being 216-210. In an interview with Fox 5 News, San Diego Representative Scott Peters says, “My hope is reasonable voices prevail and we can put aside the extremists that got us.” Due to the Speaker of the House vacancy, chaos is likely to plague Congress for the next few weeks as voting for a new Speaker of the House will take a while. It took four rounds of voting for McCarthy to be voted in. 

With no Speaker of the House, compromises between factions in the Republican party will be harder to come by, which increases the possibility of a government shutdown. If a government shutdown happens, all essential government personnel will be forced to work without pay, which includes first responders, TSA and Air traffic controllers, military personnel, and everyone working in government buildings. This will affect most civilians as delays in the airport, emergency responses, and other government services will be rampant. Sophomore Denver Harris comments, “I don’t understand why Congress would rather have a government shutdown instead of collaborating.” Due to Kevin McCarthy being voted out of his role as speaker of the house, a government shutdown is more likely than ever, which will bring nothing good to our country.