Rules about the motion to vacate in the House of Representatives will likely be changed in the next Congress.
That was a view put forth by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Wednesday though he noted it was not his personal take, but something lawmakers have been discussing.
“The motion to vacate is something that comes up a lot amongst members and discussion. … I expect there will probably be a change to that as well,” the GOP leader reportedly said at a press conference that kicked off the House GOP’s annual retreat in West Virginia, according to The Hill.
HOUSE GOP kicks off their annual retreat at the Greenbrier in West Virginia pic.twitter.com/5hJvJo5uTY — Erik Wasson (@elwasson) March 13, 2024
“But just so you know, I’ve never advocated for that; I’m not one who’s making it into this issue, because I don’t think it is one for now,” Johnson clarified.
Johnson was voted in as speaker after the dramatic ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) when a group of Republicans used the procedural maneuver.
“I just think it’s something that a lot of members on both sides of the aisle talk about openly that they have a desire for [a] more normal process on the House floor again,” Johnson continued. “So we’ll be looking at that on the House rules package in our respective caucus and conference packages as well as going to the new Congress. And that’s just something we should do in due course, be good stewards of the institution.”
The Louisiana Republican inherited McCarthy’s Rules Committee among other things that have reportedly made his job more challenging.
According to The Hill:
Under current rules, a single member can bring a motion to vacate against the Speaker, which forces a vote on ousting the lawmaker from the top job. McCarthy agreed to the one-member threshold during the Speaker’s race in January of last year after hard-line conservatives demanded it as a condition of their support. During Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) tenure as Speaker, a motion to vacate could only be brought if a majority of either party was in support.
“Changing the rules surrounding the motion to vacate was discussed during the three-week stalemate following McCarthy’s ouster. A group of 45 House GOP lawmakers — which is just more than one-fifth of the conference — signed on to a letter calling for changes to the rule,” the outlet noted.
Some Republicans, however, have expressed no desire to spark any chaos by trying to vacate Johnson.
“I have never wanted to go down that road. I didn’t want to go down that road with Kevin, I don’t want to go down that road with Mike. But you are correct, it is a tool at our disposal,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said last week.