Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent

Rep Tom Cole gets a standing ovation from most of the Republican side after his remarks defending Kevin McCarthy and touting what he says are his accomplishments.

Image source, Getty Images

Rep Tom Cole - a Republican from Oklahoma - is now at the dais, setting out the pro-McCarthy side of the debate.

Calling this a "very sad day", he says he belongs to the majority of Republicans who are "proud" of Kevin McCarthy's leadership.

Addressing the Democrats, Cole says they should "think long and hard" before casting their votes and "plunging this House into chaos".

Earlier, we reported that the Democrats leader in the House, Hakeem Jeffries, urged his members to vote against McCarthy.

Sam Cabral
Reporting from Capitol Hill

As Bob Good, a member of the anti-McCarthy crew, speaks on the House floor, Kevin McCarthy is looking as unbothered as he can.

He's leaning back in his seat with his leg in his lap and his arms out.

He went from looking at his phone for several minutes, to laughing as he chatted with the lawmaker to his right, to looking straight ahead.

As Good slammed his fist onto the lectern for emphasis on his opposition to spending measures, McCarthy turned to his colleague and pointed at Good as if to say "can you believe this guy?"

The debate - which will last for the next hour - begins with Bob Good, the Republican representative from Virginia - who was given the floor by Rep Mike Gaetz.

He begins his speech by saying he regrets what is a "totally avoidable situation" as the House moves closer to a vote for Kevin McCarthy's future as speaker.

A measure to table - or set aside - the vote on the speaker's job has failed.

The House now moves to debate, after which they'll vote on whether Kevin McCarthy gets to continue as speaker.

For readers outside of the US, you might be perplexed by the language used on Capitol Hill.

One of the most confusing aspects is the verb 'to table' (as in to table a motion).

In politics, this means something completely different in the United States than in the rest of the world.

In the US, 'to table' means to postpone or suspend the consideration of a pending motion. A motion that is 'tabled' has been rejected.

But in the rest of the English-speaking world, 'to table' means to begin the consideration of a proposal. A motion that is 'tabled' means it is being considered.

Matt Gaetz rises again to propose his motion.

But Tom Cole, a Republican from Oklahoma, calls on a vote to table - or set aside - the motion.

That will happen now before we proceed to the main vote.

This is not the vote to remove McCarthy, that would come later in proceedings.

If the motion is set aside, that could be the end of Gaetz's bid to unseat the speaker.

If it doesn't pass, the House will move on to a debate.

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent

McCarthy is standing two rows back from Gaetz, who is at the front of the Republican side, waiting for his moment in the spotlight.

They do not appear to have made eye contact.

You can watch the action at the top of this page by clicking on the play button. We expect a vote very soon that could determine Kevin McCarthy's fate as Speaker.

Our reporter Sam Cabral has just spotted McCarthy walk into the chamber and enter into conversation with a couple of members on his side of the aisle.

Sam Cabral
Reporting from Capitol Hill

Compared to about 30 minutes ago, the House floor is now filled with activity as lawmakers stream in for votes.

Most Republicans sit quietly and look unhappy, and very few are speaking.

There is a lot of chatter and laughter on the Democratic side, with lawmakers standing around in conversation. It is a striking contrast.

Matt Gaetz sits near the back of the chamber with three of his fellow defectors - Tim Burchett and Eli Crane.

Also with Gaetz are Ken Buck and Lauren Boebert, who have not indicated which way they will vote.

While we wait for lawmakers to vote on an unrelated matter, let's unpack the Republican infighting that got us here.

On Monday night, Matt Gaetz, a far-right Republican, triggered a vote on Speaker Kevin McCarthy's fate.

Tensions between the pair boiled over at the weekend, after McCarthy secured Democratic support to pass a funding bill that narrowly averted a government shutdown.

Here's a brief history of their feud:

Sam Cabral
Reporting from Capitol Hill

I’m now in the press gallery in the House chamber.

All three rows of this gallery are packed with reporters tapping away on their laptops and phones like me.

Opposite us, visitors are packed in to watch the potential ousting of a Republican Speaker.

Below us, on the floor, members streamed in after a brief recess.

Over the past hour or so, a lonely Matt Gaetz has sat in the middle of the chamber.

Gaetz, who cannot be very popular with his colleagues right now, has been approached by a few lawmakers, mostly Democrats, for brief conversations.

The House is back in session and Congressman Steve Womack is on his feet to announce the order of the upcoming votes.

He says votes will be taken on business that has previously been postponed, including the first vote which will take 15 minutes.

The vote that we are waiting for is third on the agenda.

You can watch live by clicking the Play button at the top of this page.

McCarthy fights for his political lifepublished at 18:29 British Summer Time 3 October 2023

18:29 BST 3 October 2023

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent, reporting from Capitol Hill

Like many an ambitious member of Congress, Kevin McCarthy has longed for the speaker’s gavel for much of his time in the House of Representatives.

At the beginning of the year, he finally achieved his dream – but in a bargain that would make Doctor Faustus cringe.

As a concession to win the speaker’s gavel, McCarthy created a potent weapon that could be wielded against him at any moment and for any reason. Later this afternoon, Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida – frustrated by what he sees as McCarthy’s willingness to work with Democrats and make concessions to keep the government operating – is going to use it.

Now McCarthy is in a fight for his political life. And while the vast majority of Republican in the House are on his side, there could be enough in his own party – along with unified Democrats – to trigger a new speaker’s election.

Talking in a hall outside the House floor, Congressman Darrell Issa of California, a staunch ally of the speaker’s, told me McCarthy would fight “for as long as it takes” to retain the speaker’s gavel – and that he wanted this fight today, not delayed even if it led to a more opportune time for him.

A showdown that has been months in the making has nearly arrived.

Sam Cabral
Reporting from Capitol Hill

The House is currently on a brief recess.

That means we're about 15 minutes away from votes.

We've just learned that, when votes begin at 13:30 ET (18:30 BST), the motion to table the motion to vacate (MTV) is now the third scheduled vote.

If the lawmakers vote to keep moving forward with the MTV, we will then get an hour debate - but that may go for longer. Then we will have another vote.

Image source, EPA

Many Democrats say they will follow the lead of Hakeem Jeffries, the top member of their party in the House.

In a tweet after the party's long morning meeting, Jeffries says Democrats will not enter what he casts as a fight within the Republican party. It could put McCarthy's political survival further out of reach.

"House Democrats will continue to put people over politics. We are ready to find bipartisan common ground. Our extreme colleagues have shown no willingness to do the same. They must find a way to end the House Republican Civil War," Jeffries writes.

Image source, Getty Images

At least five Republicans have publicly said they’ll vote against Kevin McCarthy.

They include Matt Gaetz of Florida, who proposed the motion which started this whole process.

Gaetz has support from Bob Good of Virginia, who told the Richmond Times-Dispatch: “I will not vote to retain him as speaker. ... I do not believe it would be possible for us to do worse.”

Andy Biggs of Arizona, a frequent critic of McCarthy, posted his objections, external on X, concluding: “He cannot remain Speaker.”

Eli Crane, another representative from Arizona, was more succinct. “Let’s roll,” he wrote, external, commenting on a news clip of Gaetz announcing his challenge.

Tim Burchett of Tennessee is also poised to vote against the speaker.

“It’s a tough decision, but I’m poised to vote for the motion to vacate because we are $33 trillion dollars in debt,” he wrote, external.

If just those five voted against him, McCarthy would lose.

But it seems very likely that the rebellion is wider. Some 20 Republicans initially voted against McCarthy for speaker back in January.

It looks increasingly likely that the speaker will need help from Democrats to cling on to his job.

The US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was asked if he will still be Speaker of the House by the end of the night.

McCarthy says he will "take the fight" and he answered "yes" to being asked if he was calling Matt Gaetz's bluff.

Sam Cabral
Reporting from Capitol Hill

The effort to oust Kevin McCarthy formally kicks off on the House floor in just over half an hour.

Matt Gaetz, the ringleader of this right-wing coup, will be the one offering up the motion.

He looks like he has the votes to get this done today and he is already sitting on the House floor in anticipation.

Described as a motion to vacate, Capitol Hill reporters - who love their three-letter acronyms - are referring to it by the shorthand MTV.

For Gaetz's MTV to succeed, it only needs five Republicans to join with all Democrats.

Democrats have already indicated to us they will act in unison and have no intention of bailing out a Speaker many of them have long viewed as unprincipled and untrustworthy.

But first, Republican leadership has scheduled a vote at 13:30 ET (17:30 GMT) on a motion to table - that is, delay - the MTV.

If that vote fails - and we expect that it likely will - we will move on to the MTV.

Republican Stephanie Bice says there's "overwhelming support" for Speaker Kevin McCarthy and she accuses Matt Gaetz of "using the American people as pawns".

"I think we've had enough," she adds.