Centrist House Republicans, reeling from the historic impeachment of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, are fighting to avoid a similar political earthquake in the future by forcing a key rule change.
The House currently allows a single member to force a floor vote on a motion to vacate the speakership, a parliamentary mechanism that Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) successfully implemented against McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Tuesday.
McCarthy himself agreed to lower the threshold for a floor vote on an override motion during his successful negotiations with far-right Republican members, which helped him win the gavel in January.
“I will not support ANYONE as President until there is a commitment to reform the Nullification Motion,” Rep. Carlos Giménez (R-Fla.) posted on X, formerly Twitter.
“The coup against President McCarthy was DESPICABLE and should never happen again. “No one can govern effectively while threatened by fringe kidnappers.”
Kevin McCarthy was ousted as House Speaker on Tuesday. AP
🚨I will not support ANYONE as President until there is a commitment to reform the Annulment Motion.
The coup against President McCarthy was DESPICABLE and should never happen again.
No one can govern effectively while threatened by fringe kidnappers. https://t.co/HtWTF0jquo
— Representative Carlos A. Giménez (@RepCarlos) October 4, 2023
Historically, the threshold to force a floor vote was one, but former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) raised it to the most of either party during her tenure after some Republicans threatened to implement it against former President John Boehner (Republican). -Ohio) in 2015.
“The possibility of one person vacating the House speakership will maintain a strangled grip on this body until 2024,” the center-right Main Street Republican Caucus said in a statement.
“Personal politics should never again be used to trump the will of 96% of House conservatives. “Any candidate for president must explain to us how what happened on Tuesday will not happen again,” added the group, made up of 68 Republican members.
The House currently allows a single member to force a floor vote on a motion to vacate the speakership, a parliamentary mechanism that Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) successfully implemented against McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Tuesday. REUTERS
One of McCarthy’s top allies, Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) disbursed a letter to his colleagues on Wednesday underscoring the need to change the rules.
“The injustice we all witnessed yesterday cannot go unaddressed, lest we be responsible for the consequences that will follow,” he wrote. “Our Conference must address fundamental changes in the structure of our majority to ensure the success of the American people.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) even suggested scrapping the motion to completely override the House rules.
So the way the moderates want to punish me is by making it harder to remove President Jordan or President Scalise?
OH NO!
EVERYTHING BUT THAT!!!! https://t.co/T1mxltVmUR
– Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) October 4, 2023
“I hope whoever the next speaker is gets rid of the override motion,” he said. “I think it makes the speaker’s job impossible, and the American people expect us to have a functioning government.”
After being dethroned, McCarthy himself apparently pushed the conference to amend the rules to prevent similar exploitation in the future.
“I don’t think that rule is good for the institution, but apparently I’m the only one,” McCarthy lamented Tuesday night during a farewell speech and news conference.
McCarthy is the first sitting speaker of the House of Representatives to be removed from office by an override motion, which has only been introduced three times in US history.
Boehner resigned in 2015 before the motion came to a vote, and former House Speaker Joseph Cannon (R-Ill.) survived a 1910 override motion.
Mike Lawler, a GOP freshman from a swing district in New York, told me he would support Matt Gaetz’s expulsion from the House Republican Conference, calling his conduct “disgraceful.” “In my opinion, yes,” he said when asked if he would support expelling him from the Republican Party. pic.twitter.com/CQHrbH5YdZ
-Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 4, 2023
The statements in favor of changing the rules highlighted the simmering anger against Gaetz and his seven colleagues who joined with 208 Democrats to unseat McCarthy.
“So the way moderates want to punish me is by making it harder to remove President Jordan or President Scalise? OH NO! “EVERYTHING BUT THAT!!!!” a bellicose Gaetz mocked in response to Giménez in X.
Another idea being floated is to expel Gaetz from the House Republican conference depending on how an ongoing House Ethics Committee investigation turns out.
McHenry announced Tuesday night that he tentatively plans to hold a presidential candidate forum on Oct. 10, with a full House vote the following day.
Two big GOP heavyweights have already thrown their hats in the ring: Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana).
Categories: Trending
Source: vtt.edu.vn