Kevin McCarthy, the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, was voted out of his job on Tuesday, October 3rd.

Fueled by a group of hard-right Republicans within the House (also known as the Freedom Caucus), and led by Florida congressman Matt Gaetz, this was a showdown for the books.

McCarthy was known to have a more neutral stance on topics than other Republicans in the House, and this caused other representatives in his party to be wary from the beginning.

To battle these concerns, McCarthy has made countless efforts to try to appease the Freedom Caucus: he reinstated the “motion to vacate” procedure, granted them greater control over House rules, and even released a public statement regarding the impeachment of President Biden.

However, there were several instances where he cut deals with Democrats in order to pass his party’s legislation. Other Republicans believed that this compromised his ability to enact their more conservative values, and more specifically with the recent discussion over the government shutdown.

When McCarthy relied on the help of Democratic votes to successfully avert the shutdown, that was the final act that sparked the rebellion of other Republican house members.