Tipsheet

White House Breaks Silence on McCarthy Ousting

The Biden White House finally addressed one of the most pivotal changes in Washington, D.C., after a reporter asked if President Joe Biden is concerned about getting along with the next House Speaker. 

On Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the ousting of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) "is like shambolic behavior that we're seeing from House Republicans." 

Jean-Pierre refused to dive deeper into the momentous change that has shaken the House. 

"Again, not going to get into who's running or who's not running. That is, again, something for them to figure out" Jean-Pierre said. "The important fact is Republicans in the House, they have the majority. This is for them to figure out. This is for them to figure out how they are going to move forward. This is a situation that they have created." 

The White House insisted that Biden is willing to work with Republicans bipartisanly, claiming that "every American" is "sick and tired of the infighting that they're seeing in the House." 

Earlier in the day, during a press conference, a reporter asked Biden his opinion on the next House Speaker— which the president refused to comment on. 

"That's above my pay grade," the president responded before shuffling away from the podium. 

Jean-Pierre continued to slam the GOP for their "creation" of "chaos" she believes the House is facing. 

"They stand apart from any other conference that we have seen before, whether you're talking about the Senate or the House," Jean-Pierre added. "And so this is their creation, this chaos. If you think about it, this is like shambolic behavior that we're seeing from House Republicans. And so they need to figure it out." 

On Tuesday, McCarthy was ousted as House Speaker via a roll-call vote from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL). Joining Gaetz in his motion to vacate were Reps. Biggs (AZ), Rep. Ken Buck (C.O.), Rep. Tim Burchett (T.N.), Rep. Eli Crane (AZ), Rep. Bob Good (V.A.), Rep. Nancy Mace (S.C.), and Rep. Matt Rosendale (M.T.).

In January, McCarthy was elected Speaker after 15 rounds of voting over the course of several days.