As House Republicans deal with choosing someone to replace Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), they are also looking at perhaps changing the rule that allowed the vote to remove him.
U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) managed to use the “motion to vacate” rule in the House of Representatives to oust his GOP colleague, as several other Republicans joined Democrats in the historic vote to remove McCarthy from the leadership position. But now, along with finding a replacement, a group of Republicans are looking to make sure things don’t play out this way again for future House speakers and are butting heads with their colleagues who defend the rule.
In an open letter penned last week, a bitter group of 45 House Republicans conveyed their thoughts on changing the “motion to vacate” rule and their anger over the “chaos caucus” of eight GOP colleagues who joined the minority Democrats.
“The injustice we all witnessed cannot go unaddressed — lest we bear responsibility for the consequences that follow. Our Conference must address fundamental changes to the structure of our majority to ensure success for the American people,” read the letter obtained by Fox News Digital.
The GOP members said they were “ashamed and embarrassed” by what had happened with “less than 4 percent of our Republican Conference joining with all Democrats to override the will of the remaining 96 percent of House Republicans on one of the most consequential votes the House has taken in over a century.”
“Ashamed and embarrassed by what happened on the Floor this week, we refuse to allow the eight members who abandoned and undermined our Conference to dictate every outcome in policy and personnel for the remainder of this Congress, including the upcoming selection of the Speaker of the House,” the letter continued.
“It is our responsibility to identify the right person at this moment to lead us into the future to achieve the conservative policy objectives that we and the American people all share,” they wrote.“We cannot allow our majority to be dictated to by the alliance between the chaos caucus and the minority party that will do nothing more than guarantee the failure of our next Speaker.”
But the decision on keeping or ditching the rule has sparked fierce debate within the GOP.
According to The Hill:
The House had long had a one-person threshold to force a vote on ousting the Speaker. The move had not been attempted for a century, though, until former Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) made a motion in 2015 against then-Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). While the move failed, it is widely thought to have contributed to Boehner’s resignation later that year.
When Democrats took over the chamber, the House rules changed to only allow the motion to vacate if directed by a party caucus or conference.
Republicans, when they took over this year, had aimed to change the rule again — but instead of reverting back to the one-member threshold, Republicans had drafted rules to allow the motion if five members joined.
ADVERTISEMENT
Eventually, in his efforts to win over members and secure the speakership, McCarthy agreed to restore the one-member threshold earlier this year. Changes at this point would require a House floor vote, and disagreements abound.
The Main Street Caucus, whose chairman Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-N.D.), signed onto the GOP letter, also put out a statement decrying the motion to vacate rule.
— Republican Main Street Caucus (@CaucusMain) October 4, 2023
“The person who wants my vote for Speaker must commit to reforming the Motion to Vacate,” Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) said in a statement last week. “The threshold must be raised to 50% of the Republican Conference. The coup against Speaker Kevin McCarthy was despicable and must never happen again. A Speaker cannot govern under constant threat by fringe hostage takers.”
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who railed against the vote that ousted McCarthy, nevertheless took to social media to express his thoughts on keeping the single-member threshold.
“While I understand some of my colleagues are frustrated over invocation of the Motion to Vacate last week against Speaker Kevin McCarthy — a move I strongly opposed, the rule should remain. It’s an historic, institutional, & important tool for individual members to exercise their right to represent constituents and not be steamrolled by the establishment,” Roy wrote.
The president of the conservative group Club for Growth also stood strong against some suggested changes.
Club for Growth will oppose any candidate for Speaker of the House who supports a return to Pelosi’s rules, especially her rule change against vacating the chair which stood for more than 200 years. The House was meant to act as a democratic body, not at the whims of one person’s…
— David M. McIntosh (@DavidMMcintosh) October 5, 2023
Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) – who are both vying to replace McCarthy as House speaker – have expressed their view that it is the House Republican Conference that should ultimately make the decision on the controversial rule.
. @Jim_Jordan says he’ll support changes motion to vacate rule. pic.twitter.com/4h9nAIDhNe
— Grace Chong (@gc22gc) October 6, 2023
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.