By Pacific Island Times News Staff
Guam Del. James Moylan was not pleased with the House of Representatives' move to oust California Rep. Kevin McCarthy as the speaker, who he said "has helped open many doors for Guam."
"From day one, Speaker McCarthy has been a mentor and a friend of Guam," Moylan said, noting that the ousted speaker helped unroll funding opportunities and opened a seat on the House Armed Services Committee for Guam.
The House on Tuesday voted 216 to 210 to remove McCarthy from his position after he reached an 11th-hour deal to avert a government shutdown with the help of House Democrats. "The efforts were led by a small number of members who are a part of the House Freedom Caucus and who did not appreciate Speaker McCarthy’s efforts to work across the aisle to pass a continuing resolution to avert a federal government shutdown over the weekend," Moylan said. McCarthy was the first House speaker to be voted out of office, amid chaos over the 2024 federal budget, which contained a new package for Ukraine that is being opposed by right-wing Republicans.
“I may have lost this vote today, but as I walk out of this chamber I feel fortunate to have served,” McCarthy said at a press conference at the Capitol.
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Moylan said McCarthy has given him the opportunity for more active participation in the congressional process.
"He has entrusted me on numerous occasions to serve as speaker pro tempore, and his management is one of inclusion, consisting of reaching across the political aisle," Moylan said. "He has approved three congressional delegations for Guam so far, a field hearing, and a hearing on one of our veterans bills later this month. His leadership will be missed," he added.
The Guam delegate said McCarthy's ouster "sadly sets back the efforts of the House, which is tasked with the daunting task of passing eight appropriation measures in the next few weeks."
Rep. Ed Case of Hawaii, who voted for McCarthy's removal as House Speaker, said he could not support the congressional direction with the California congressman at the helm.
“I considered my vote every which way, take no pleasure in it, and worked for alternatives” said Case, vice chair of the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus. “The last thing I want to do is support the small minority within my Republican colleagues who initiated this removal."
However, he said Congress under McCarthy’s leadership has seen "dysfunction worsen" at a time when it needed "to function fully."
"We have also seen blind catering to an extreme minority even within the Republican Party who do not represent the vast majority of the country and certainly not my constituents, and who prefer dysfunction over practical mainstream governing," Case added.
“But at the end of the day, on the vote required of me, I voted for change in the House that I believe best moves us all toward a more functional Congress that actually gets things done for all Americans.”
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