Republicans float repealing motion to vacate rule that led to McCarthy ouster
by Cami Mondeaux, Congressional Reporter & Reese Gorman, Congressional Reporter
October 04, 2023 01:59 PM
As House Republicans vet candidates to replace Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as speaker, some GOP lawmakers are considering raising the threshold required to make a motion to vacate, which could prevent a replay of McCarthy's ouster.
When McCarthy ran for speaker in January, the California Republican made a number of concessions to rank-and-file lawmakers in exchange for their support in the leadership elections. Part of that deal was a rule change to allow a single member to raise a motion to vacate, which would then force a vote on the measure.
Now, some of McCarthy’s closest allies and top Republicans are suggesting repealing that rule altogether, arguing it makes it too difficult to govern.
“We can’t put a new speaker in place with this structure that is completely dysfunctional. You can’t do that. That’s wrong. It would be unjust to another speaker,” Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) said. “Let’s keep in mind, there is a conference rule that says that you cannot bring a motion to vacate without the support of the conference.”
Some members indicated that rule could be up for negotiation as they consider a new speaker, noting it would likely be something candidates would run on as part of their platform.
“I guess that’ll be negotiated by whoever wants to run as part of trying to get the votes,” Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) said. “We’ll see how that goes.”
“I think they’ll reconsider some things,” added Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN), who voted to remove McCarthy. “I think they might take [the motion to vacate rule] out.”
more
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/house/republicans-float-repealing-motion-to-vacate-rule
