US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has been removed from his post. It is the first time in history that members of the House of Representatives voted to oust their leader.

The vote was held on Tuesday. Republican representative Matt Gaetz had filed what is known as a "motion to vacate the chair." He had accused McCarthy of cutting a "secret side deal" with the Democrats to pass a temporary agreement to avoid a government shutdown.

Gaetz has also called McCarthy "a liar," complaining that the speaker did not push to include the broad spending cuts he and other hardline Republicans had called for.

Representative Patrick McHenry will fill in temporarily as speaker until lawmakers hold an election to decide on a replacement. However, they have no rules to guide them on when they have to vote.

McCarthy had managed over the weekend to get both Republicans and Democrats to agree on the stopgap bill that gives them time to continue their debate on spending. Members of Congress now have just over 40 days to agree on how to fund the government and prevent it from being shut down.