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Kevin McCarthy was fired as House speaker on Monday — leaving the GOP in a state of chaos.
With no clear path forward, the Republican Party has resorted to name-calling and blame, much to the cheers of late-night TV writers. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert began with him telling the audience that he had learned of McCarthy’s ouster just moments before he took the stage. “I’m sure I don’t mean to take that out of context when I say, ‘I love the McCarthy hearings,'” Colbert said.
The vote to oust the embattled party leader was part of a campaign by Rep. Matt Gaetz and a group of like-minded Republicans who have long opposed McCarthy – making him the first speaker to be removed from office over a resignation request from his own party. However, much of the anger was directed at Gaetz, as even other MAGA supporters were angry about the ensuing infighting and unrest in the Republican Party – something Colbert was happy to embrace.
“This all started just last night … when Matt Gaetz introduced a motion to vacate the speaker’s chair that Gaetz had threatened to file earlier in the day,” Colbert explained. “And then McCarthy tweeted ‘Bring it on,’ to which Gaetz replied, ‘Just did it.’” The host continued to imagine how the rest of the Twitter exchange would play out, comparing it to a schoolyard showdown.
On Jimmy Kimmel Live, Jimmy Kimmel highlighted the historic moment. “[McCarthy is] the first speaker in the United States to be removed by a vote of his colleagues. “This has not happened since 1776 until today,” Kimmel said. “This was an unlikely and historic collaboration between far-right Republicans and Democrats. Do you know how much you have to suck to get AOC and Matt Gaetz on the same page?”
“Matt Gaetz hasn’t been this excited since he walked into the Forever 21 locker room,” Kimmel added, likely referring to the federal investigation into Gaetz for alleged sex trafficking of a 17-year-old girl.
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On The Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon performed a reel of McCarthy’s “Greatest Moments as Speaker of the House” that literally lasted a second.
Late-night television returned to the air this month following the end of the Writers Guild of America strike.
To mark the occasion, Donald Trump posted on Truth Social early Tuesday morning. “Now that the ‘strike’ is over, the talentless, low-rated CREEPS of late night television are back,” he wrote. In another post, the former president claimed the hosts were “poorly rated and not funny at all” before concluding: “Look what’s going on – so interesting!”
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Of course, Colbert and Kimmel commented on the great reception. “Thanks for watching, sir,” Colbert quipped, before cutting to video of a billboard in Times Square with Trump’s glowing “interesting” review.
“Sir, thank you so much for the support,” the late-night host said. “I hope you get a chance to take a look at the billboard on your way to your next court appearance or Bubba Gump Shrimp appearance.”