House ousts McCarthy as Speaker, first time in history – National & International News – TUE 3Oct2023

House ousts McCarthy as Speaker, first time in history.

A year after Mahsa Amini, another case of brutal morality policing captures Iran’s attention.

NATIONAL NEWS

House ousts McCarthy as Speaker, first time in history

The House has voted 216-210 to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from the Speakership. All the Democrats joined eight hardline Republicans in voting McCarthy out.

This came after Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) filed a motion earlier today to unseat McCarthy. The power struggle between mainline and hardline Republicans in the House this year has become increasingly acrimonious and figured prominently in the recent budget talks. Despite winning Democrats to pass a continuing resolution this past weekend, the House Democratic caucus decided not to take any action to support McCarthy or prevent his ouster. 

In the fight to name a new speaker in January, the House cast 15 ballots before McCarthy won over enough of his hardliners though concessions that have made his position vulnerable and handed outsized influence to roughly 21 MAGA Republicans.

What happens now?

For now, Rep. Patrick McHenry, (R-NC) will take over as Speaker pro tempore until there’s a new election for Speaker. There’s no clear timeline as to when the vote for a new Speaker will take place.

When the vote does happen, it will likely disrupt the chamber’s business for days. It’s unclear at this point if there is any obvious successor to McCarthy who could win enough support from across the House GOP caucus. It’s also not impossible McCarthy could take the position back after realigning his coalition. For years, McCarthy has been one of the GOP’s biggest fundraisers, and many Republicans who have benefitted from his largesse remain loyal to him.

Previous deals with McCarthy suggest that the Democrats could use this opportunity to win concessions in favor of their policies. Despite these previous collaborations, centrist Democrats like Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) have publicly adopted the position that McCarthy can’t be trusted. They also condemn McCarthy’s previous loyalty to former Pres. Trump and his alliance with the hard right.

Nevertheless, it’s clear McCarthy would make any deal that would allow him to be Speaker. If Democrats refuse any cooperation with McCarthy or any other potential GOP Speaker, it’s likely that whoever the next Speaker is will be even farther right than McCarthy and that their position will be even more tenuous. 

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

A year after Mahsa Amini, another case of brutality by morality police captures Iran’s attention

The anniversary of the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini at the hands of Iran’s morality police recently passed. Amini was detained and beaten to death for not wearing her hijab properly. Her death sparked months of intense antigovernment protests throughout the country. The protests have largely died down after a brutal crackdown by the state, but some women remain defiant in refusing to wear their hijabs in public, despite the risk.

Now a new incident of mortality police brutality has sparked outrage in the country. Armita Garawand, 16, was reportedly violently assaulted inside a train in Tehran for not wearing her hijab. There’s no footage of what happened inside the train, but video from inside a train station shows several girls carrying an unconscious Garawand onto the platform. Garawand is reportedly in a coma.

Iranian authorities have rejected the accusations of police brutality as “rumors” and claim that Garawand simply fainted in the carriage and hit her head. Garawand is being treated in a military hospital and no one, even her immediate family, has been allowed to see her. 

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