Jan's Plans & Pans - October 3, 2023

Today is a solemn day for the United States House of Representatives. For the first time in U.S. history, the House has voted to remove a speaker. The final vote was 216-to-210, with eight Republicans voting with 208 Democrats to remove Kevin McCarthy.

It took 15 rounds of voting for Kevin McCarthy to win the speakership, and what did he do immediately after winning? Hand the gavel over to the far-right extremists in his party. The chaos and anxiety could have been avoided if Kevin McCarthy honored the bipartisan budget agreement he reached with President Joe Biden earlier this year.

Just this past weekend, Kevin McCarthy had us on a collision course towards a government shutdown, which would have forced our troops to work without pay, harmed small businesses, risked air travel disruptions, endangered access to food assistance for nearly seven million mothers and their children, and so much more. Not only would a shutdown have hurt working families, but it would also have damaged our economy and endangered our national security.

Kevin McCarthy has broken too many promises to count. The American people deserve better. House Democrats will continue working to make life better for everyday Americans. I promise to keep you updated as news develops.