President Joe Biden believes Congress needs to “stop seeing each other as enemies” after conservative Republicans turned on House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and voted to oust him from his position.

“More than anything, we need to change the poisonous atmosphere in Washington,” Biden said in remarks from the White House. “You know, we have strong disagreements, but we need to stop seeing each other as enemies. We need to talk to one another, listen to one another, work with one another. We can do that.”

McCarthy removed as Speaker

McCarthy was ousted from his position as Speaker of the House of Representatives after conservative GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz filed a motion to remove him. Gaetz was unhappy with McCarthy for his willingness to work with House Democrats to prevent the government from shutting down last week. Democrats then also voted to remove him.

In his remarks Wednesday, Biden praised McCarthy and other lawmakers for engaging in a successful bipartisan effort to keep the government open, but noted that funding is expected to run out again in November, as Congress only passed a temporary stopgap measure.

“We cannot and should not again be faced with an eleventh-hour decision of brinkmanship that threatens to shutdown the government," the President continued. “Our Republican colleagues remain committed to working in a bipartisan fashion. We were prepared to do it as well, for the good of the American people”.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre recently said officials from Biden's administration will not weigh in on the debate over who the next Speaker should be. The current acting speaker is Patrick T. McHenry, a Republican from North Carolina, who can only recess the House, adjourn the chamber, and recognize speaker nominations.

When asked what advice he has for McCarthy’s eventual replacement, Biden laughed and responded: “That’s above my pay grade."