Washington — House Republicans said they reached an agreement Wednesday to raise the threshold for ousting their speaker as the party looks to build a unified front after winning control of the White House. both houses of congress,
The leaders of two influential factions, the House Freedom Caucus and the Main Street Caucus, said they have an agreement to change the rule that allows a member to bring a no-confidence vote to remove the speaker.
The House Freedom Caucus agreed to raise the limit to nine members. In exchange for the increase, the Main Street Caucus would drop proposed rule changes that sought to punish those who defy the party majority.
Representative Andy Harris of Maryland, who chairs the House Freedom Caucus, said, “We have been able to work at the convention to eliminate contentious issues that could have divided us.”
South Dakota Rep. Dusty Johnson, who leads the Main Street Caucus, said Harris reached out to him Wednesday morning for a deal and told him “unity is important.”
Johnson acknowledged that some of the proposed rule changes “probably would have divided this conference.”
“Because of this agreement, we are in a better position to advance the Republican agenda,” Johnson said.
Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska, a member of the Main Street Caucus, said the resolutions were created because he wanted members who insurrectionized to be held accountable.
“We are deeply disappointed by the actions of some people in the current Congress,” he said.
Infighting has made it difficult for Republicans, who have a razor-thin majority, to govern over the past two years.
In January 2023, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California finally won the position of speaker The 15 ballots were followed by a long and public battle with the Conservatives, who demanded concessions, including allowing a member to bring a no-confidence vote to remove 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.
However, House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana has faced similar issues to McCarthy and has had to rely on Democratic votes to pass legislation, Republicans on Wednesday supported him for a second term Leading the party.
House Republicans are again expected to have a narrow majority in the next Congress, which will temporarily be made more difficult by President-elect Donald Trump's offer of several members to serve in his administration.
Johnson said he changed his plans to spend the weekend with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida so he could be there “when more decisions like this are being made.”
“He's very aware of the margin, the size of the margin, but he has an administration to fill out, a Cabinet to fill out,” Johnson said at a news conference with House Republican leaders. “Everyone in this room is well aware of that, and that's why we're pushing for unity right now.”
Contributed to this report.