Kevin McCarthy has faced two major kinds of GOP opposition:

  1. Republicans who voted against electing him Speaker in January 2023, and
  2. Republicans who later voted to remove him as Speaker in October 2023.

Quick Scoop: Who Voted Against McCarthy?

1. The 8 Republicans Who Voted to Oust McCarthy (October 2023)

On October 3, 2023, eight House Republicans joined all voting Democrats to remove Kevin McCarthy as Speaker in a historic “motion to vacate” vote.

Those eight Republicans were:

  • Andy Biggs (Arizona)
  • Ken Buck (Colorado)
  • Tim Burchett (Tennessee)
  • Eli Crane (Arizona)
  • Matt Gaetz (Florida) – led the effort
  • Bob Good (Virginia)
  • Nancy Mace (South Carolina)
  • Matt Rosendale (Montana)

Their main complaints included: McCarthy’s deals with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown, concerns about federal spending and debt, and accusations that he broke promises made to conservatives when he first became Speaker.

2. Republicans Who Opposed McCarthy’s Speakership Bids (January 2023)

When McCarthy was trying to become Speaker in early January 2023, a bloc of hard‑right Republicans repeatedly voted against him across multiple ballots.

  • On the third ballot alone, 20 Republicans opposed McCarthy and instead backed Rep. Jim Jordan.
  • A broader group of 21 Republicans did not back McCarthy on all of the first six votes.

These dissenters were mostly from the party’s most conservative wing and came from safe Republican districts, which gave them room to defy party leadership. Their opposition forced McCarthy into a series of concessions on House rules, spending, and the power of individual members (like the ability of one member to trigger a “motion to vacate” that was later used to remove him).

3. One More Angle: Republicans Voting Against McCarthy-Backed Bills

In late September 2023, McCarthy pushed a short‑term funding bill (a “continuing resolution”) to keep the government open for 45 days. Several Republicans voted against that McCarthy-backed stopgap, arguing it did not cut enough spending or change policy sufficiently.

That clash over government funding was a key part of the anger that later fueled the successful vote to oust him as Speaker.

In forum and news discussions, when people ask “what Republicans voted against McCarthy,” they most often mean the eight who actually removed him as Speaker: Biggs, Buck, Burchett, Crane, Gaetz, Good, Mace, and Rosendale.

TL;DR:

  • McCarthy faced repeated opposition from a hard‑right bloc when he first ran for Speaker in January 2023.
  • On October 3, 2023, eight Republicans crossed him in the most dramatic way, joining Democrats to vote him out of the Speakership: Biggs, Buck, Burchett, Crane, Gaetz, Good, Mace, and Rosendale.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.