WASHINGTON — Five out of Arizona's nine congressional representatives voted Tuesday to successfully oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Republicans Andy Biggs and Eli Crane were among the handful of GOP members in the House who voted with Democrats to get rid of McCarthy.
In a close vote of 216-210, Biggs and Crane helped to provide enough votes to kick McCarthy out of the speaker seat and declare it vacant. Only eight Republican members supported the motion to oust McCarthy.
Republicans Juan Ciscomani, Paul Gosar, David Schweikert, and Debbie Lesko voted to keep McCarthy.
Ciscomani, who represents the southeastern portion of Arizona, called McCarthy's removal "pointless" and "unproductive."
Arizona Democrats Ruben Gallego, Greg Stanton, and Raul Grijalva voted to oust McCarthy.
“Kevin McCarthy never kept his word," Grijalva said in a statement. "He lied about working with Democrats in the House of Representatives and he lied about the debt ceiling agreement. The problem Kevin had as Speaker is that no one trusted him.
What happens next is unclear. There is no obvious successor at this point.
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