A HISTORIC showdown on Tuesday saw the removal of Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House – the first time ever during a legislative term. 

The charge, led by Matt Gaetz’s motion to vacate, led to North Carolina Rep. Patrick McHenry being appointed Speaker pro tempore as an election to choose the next speaker is underway. 

Gaetz introduced the motion after criticizing McCarthy’s handling of spending and budget fights since Republicans took majority control of the chamber.

McCarthy argued that he helped stop a partial federal government shutdown with Democrat support and even called himself “the adult in the room,” however it didn’t convince other members of the GOP.

McHenry is currently serving his tenth term as the representative for the state’s 10th Congressional District, according to his website.

He also serves as the Chair of the House Financial Services Committee, assuming office in January of this year.

McHenry previously served in the committee’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, overseeing the Federal Reserve, the Treasury Department, and other federal financial regulators. 

Born in Gastonia, North Carolina on October 22, 1975, McHenry was the youngest of five children.

He attended Belmont Abbey College where he founded the school’s College Republican chapter and later became the chair of the North Carolina Federation of College Republicans.

He got his political start working as the national coalition director for George W. Bush’s 2000 presidential campaign.

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McHenry was also a special assistant to Elaine Chao, the then-Secretary of Labor before returning to North Carolina to run for the state’s General Assembly and winning in 2002.

However, before being made interim speaker, McHenry decided to take a low-key role in the House, often working behind the scenes.

“What changed for me was once I slowed down enough to respect the process and to respect the people that I served with in the institution,” he told the News & Observer in 2017. 

McHenry was the only person among possible successors to McCarthy who voted to certify the 2020 presidential election and on Saturday, he voted with Democrats for the stopgap spending measure in an effort to keep the government open. 

He is also a close ally to McCarthy, helping him negotiate the debt limit deal in May and even spoke in his dense on the House floor Tuesday. 

“I think we will have a far more functional House with his speakership going forward than any other person,” he said on Monday. 

McCarthy said he would not run again for speaker after losing the vote but believes he can still continue his fight.

“My goals have not changed. My ability to fight is just in a different form,” reported ABC.

“I’ll never give up on the American people. That doesn’t mean I have to be speaker.