(BBC News) Kevin McCarthy has been toppled in a right-wing revolt — the first time that a US House of Representatives Speaker has lost a no-confidence vote.
The final tally was 216-210 to remove the congressman as leader of the Republican majority in the lower chamber of Congress.
Hardliners in his party voted against him after he struck a deal with Senate Democrats to fund government agencies.
There is no clear successor to oversee the House Republican majority.
Congress has just over 40 days to agree on a deal to avoid another potential government shutdown.
Florida Republican Matt Gaetz, a Donald Trump ally, filed a rarely used procedural tool known as a motion to vacate on Monday night to oust McCarthy.
He accused the Speaker of making a secret deal with the White House to continue funding for Ukraine, amid negotiations to avert a partial government shutdown at the weekend. McCarthy denies it.
At a private meeting of Republican politicians on Tuesday evening after losing his job, McCarthy told colleagues he did not plan to run for Speaker again.
