A group of House Republicans are pushing for a series of parliamentary rule changes following the ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) earlier this week. The potential changes could result in it being harder to oust a speaker from the position and appear to be a reaction to the resolution Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) used to remove McCarthy.
The 45 representatives issued a joint letter calling the removal of McCarthy an “injustice” that “cannot go unaddressed — lest we bear responsibility for the consequences that follow. Our Conference must address fundamental changes to the structure of our majority to ensure success for the American people.”
The Republicans wrote that they were “ashamed and embarrassed” by the vote earlier in the week, stating that “eight Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives joined in an alliance with 208 Democrats to adopt a motion to vacate the Speaker of the House.”
Gaetz had used a resolution to vacate the chair Monday which resulted in the dramatic Tuesday vote. Much of the issue stems from the contentious vote over who should become the next House Speaker in January, which took a number of floor votes.
As part of the compromise that gave McCarthy the position, the rule was changed so that one member could issue the motion, which would set up a vote within 48 hours.
The members described McCarthy as “one of the most accomplished speakers in modern history” and blamed 4% of the Republican Congress for voting in the same manner as Democrats “on one of the most consequential votes the House has taken in over a century.”
The signatories included a large swatch of Republican points of view, including a number of staunch conservatives and moderates. They wrote that it was their “responsibility to identify the right person at this moment to lead us into the future to achieve the conservative policy objectives that we and the American people all share.”
Gaetz wrote on social media that his “mission is to ensure that the House of Representatives runs better.” He said that Congress had been “backed up against shutdown politics, governed by crisis and no one has been responsible for spending in the last 30 years.”
“It’s time for a change,” he wrote.
My mission is to ensure that the House of Representatives runs better.
We have been backed up against shutdown politics, governed by crisis, and no one has been responsible for spending in the last 30 years.
It’s time for a change. pic.twitter.com/OjVsRwqb9T
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) October 4, 2023
Several Republicans have discussed the possibility of expelling Gaetz from Congress.
