Washington – House Republicans issued a new rules package The threshold for forcing a vote to remove the Speaker will be raised on Wednesday.
The threshold allowing a single member to bring a no-confidence vote to remove the speaker will be raised to nine members of the majority party in the 119th Congress.
The House is expected to vote Friday to adopt the rules package after members elect and take the oath of office.
Leaders of the House Freedom Caucus and the Main Street Caucus, two influential Republican factions, threshold agreement announced In November he tried to form a unified front after gaining control of the White House and both houses of Congress.
Infighting has made it difficult for Republicans, who have a razor-thin majority, to govern over the past two years. Republicans in the new Congress will have a similar margin.
To secure victory in January 2023, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California made concessions to conservatives, including allowing a member to bring a no-confidence vote to oust the speaker.
Nine months later, the deal was done McCarthy's fall He relied on House Democrats' votes to temporarily avert a government shutdown. This was the first time in American history that the speaker of a House was ousted by such a motion.
House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana has faced the same issues as McCarthy and has had to rely on Democratic votes to pass legislation, angering conservatives who have threatened to oust him. Although Republicans in November supported him for a second term While leading the party, it is not clear whether he will get the required votes on Friday. However, no serious challenger to Johnson has emerged.
“There is no other choice for Speaker of the House, folks. No other name has been circulated, no other candidate has been proposed, because everybody knows I'm the only one who can get the votes,” Johnson. Said In a recent interview with a Louisiana radio station.