On Wednesday, the House of Representatives released its new rules package for the 119th Congress, which, among other things, raises the threshold for a potential removal of the Speaker of the House.
As Breitbart reports, the proposed rules change comes as several Republicans consider blocking Speaker Mike Johnson’s re-election bid, following his support for a continuing resolution (CR) that avoided a government shutdown. Under the new rules proposal, the threshold for passing a motion to vacate the chair would be increased from one member of the majority party to nine members. The amount was likely determined based on the number of Republicans who ultimately voted in favor of vacating the chair in October of 2023, which was eight.
Despite some Republican opposition to Johnson in recent weeks, President-elect Donald Trump issued his endorsement of Johnson for another term as Speaker, saying on his Truth Social account that “Speaker Mike Johnson is a good, hard working, religious man. He will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN. Mike has my Complete & Total Endorsement. MAGA!!!”
Nevertheless, several Republican members of the House plan to defy the former and future president and vote against Johnson, including Congressmen Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Chip Roy (R-Texas). Prior to the passage of the CR, President-elect Trump issued a blistering condemnation of Roy in particular, calling for a primary challenger against Roy in 2026.
Democrats also expressed their anger at the new rules proposal, with Congressman Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) pointing out that only members of the majority party are allowed to vacate the chair, while the minority party has no say in the matter.
“Their proposed changes would, for the first time in American history, shield the Speaker from accountability to the entire chamber,” McGovern claimed in a statement. “The American people did not vote for whatever the hell this is — and you better believe that Democrats will not let Republicans turn the House of Representatives into a rubber stamp for their extremist policies.”
The House will convene on Friday, January 3rd, to swear in new members, vote on the rules package, and elect the next Speaker.
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