House Republicans announced a proposal On Wednesday, House rules were enacted that would make it more difficult to oust the speaker in an effort to protect Mike Johnson or whoever ultimately wins.
In the current Congress, all members of the House of Representatives from both parties can introduce Motion to oust Speaker, requiring the House to vote on a new Speaker.
Former Chairman Kevin McCarthy I made this rule In 2023 concession To House Republicans in return for voting for the chairmanship after 15 embarrassing rounds of voting.
Former Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz used this rule to say: oust McCarthy won in October 2023. and Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. I tried to use it again Although Democrats voted to push Johnson out in May 2024, they decided to keep him to avoid throwing the House into disarray for the second time in less than a year.
But new rules proposed by Republicans, which the House is expected to vote on when the 119th Congress is sworn in on Friday, would allow only members of the majority party to file a motion to oust the speaker.
as follows: proposal status“Resolutions that result in a vacancy in the Speaker’s office cannot be privileged unless they are proposed by a member of the majority party and have a cumulative eight co-sponsors from the majority party at the time of their proposal.’’
If adopted, the rule could prevent Johnson from being ousted if his lawmakers revolt against him. Of course Johnson must be elected Speakers come first. It’s not certain.
Johnson can afford to lose one Republicans vote with a slim majority and still hold the chair. Rep. Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky, has already he said no Vote for Johnson and Rep. Chip Roy, Republican of Texas. proposal Neither does he, putting Johnson’s speech at potential risk.
It’s unclear whether anyone will challenge Johnson for the gavel, so Massie-Roy’s efforts will only prevent the House from having a speaker and paralyze the chamber until they relent. If there is no speaker by January 6, Congress will not be able to certify Donald Trump’s victory.
Meanwhile, Democrats are angry about the rule changes proposed by Republicans.
Rep. Jim McGovern, a Massachusetts Democrat, accused Republicans of “injecting partisan extremism into the rules.”
“The changes they propose will protect the Speaker from accountability to the entire Congress by ensuring, for the first time in history, that only Republicans can vacate the Speaker’s seat.” wrote on. “This makes it clear that they have no intention of working together to find common ground. Instead of electing a Speaker of the House, they have decided to elect a Speaker of the Republican Conference that is being held hostage by its most extreme members.”
Other Democrats said the rule proposal showed Johnson’s weakness.
“I think this caricature is necessary in his mind because the chairman’s leadership is so weak,” said Rep. Joe Morelle, a New York Democrat. told Axios. “There is no way he can ‘win’ the game unless a ‘fix’ is made. “But this is very troublesome.”
The 119th Party Congress is already a mess, and it hasn’t even started yet.
