ULTIMATUM: House GOP Moderates Demand McCarthy Keep Nancy Pelosi’s Rules
by Cullen McCue
December 15, 2022
Last Updated on December 15, 2022
A caucus of moderate House Republicans — have threatened to tank a new House rules package if Kevin McCarthy is formally challenged. A number of House Freedom Caucus members — including U.S. Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Bob Good (R-VA), among others, have mounted a significant challenge to McCarthy in recent weeks and have indicated that they will not hesitate to put forward a motion to vacate the Speaker’s chair on January 3. Of the 44 members of the self-styled “Republican Governance Group,” six voted to impeach President Trump while five were promptly voted out. A number of others voted for the commission of Nancy Pelosi’s January 6 committee that has been used to target conservatives.
Wearing “Only Kevin” buttons, the moderate Republican group met with McCarthy and threatened to preserve Pelosi era House rules if a deal is cut with GOP “hardliners” on reforms popular with the Republican electorate.
“The Republican Governance Group met w/ McCarthy this morning & told him they’d support him on multiple ballots for speaker,” wrote CNN Capitol Hill reporter Melanie Zanona in a tweet Wednesday. “But they also had a warning: if he cuts a deal with hardliners on the motion to vacate the speaker’s chair, they will not support the rules package.”
Republicans opposed to McCarthy have routinely cited his refusal to do away with Pelosi’s House rules as a primary motivation for their opposition. For the House Freedom Caucus, banning earmarks has become a top focus, though the Republican caucus voted against banning the practice during a conference meeting earlier this month.
“After the House elects a speaker, the chamber then adopts a rules package, which is where we could see some of the concessions, if any, McCarthy makes to win more speaker’s vote,” Zanona wrote in a follow-up tweet. “So this warning could further complicate things for McCarthy.”
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https://nationalfile.com/ultimatum-house-gop-moderates-demand-mccarthy-keep-nancy-pelosis-rules/
