Republicans Want to Change Speaker Rules So They Don’t Embarrass Themselves Again

Nikki McCann Ramirez
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A contingent of Republicans is attempting to raise the threshold of support needed within the GOP caucus before a candidate’s nomination as House Speaker can be brought to a floor vote.

Following Tuesday’s ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy, led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and a small cohort of allies, Republicans are seeking to avoid another public display of GOP disunity. On Friday, 12 GOP representatives officially called for a meeting to consider “an amendment to House Republican Conference Rules to temporarily raise the threshold needed to elect a Speaker.”

Currently, Republican conference rules require a two-thirds vote among caucus members to approve a Speaker nominee before moving to a public vote on the House floor. Instead, they reportedly want to raise the caucus vote threshold to 218 out of 221, the same amount needed for an outright election in a full vote.

Republicans hold one of the slimmest majorities in the history of the lower chamber, so even a small cohort of dissenters could block the election of a new Speaker. This is what happened in January, when it took 15 votes to elect McCarthy to the position. The days-long spectacle was humiliating for the party, with some members nearly coming to blows on the House flow.

“What it boils down to is: Are we going to square everything away in the locker room before going onto the field?” one anonymous Republican lawmaker told Politico, which first reported discussions surrounding a potential rule change earlier on Friday. We don’t want a “repeat of January,” another member said.

Three Republican representatives have submitted themselves as candidates for the position: Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Steve Scalise (R-La.), and Kevin Hern (R-Okla.). Former President Donald Trump has also been floated as a potential replacement for McCarthy, and has both indicated his willingness to serve in the position on a temporary basis and endorsed Jordan for the role.

While House Republicans may want the battle to unify behind a single candidate to take place behind closed doors, it’s quickly on its way to becoming a public spectacle. Trump is reportedly considering an in-person visit to the Capitol to weigh in on the negotiations. Fox News was also planning to host a televised debate between Jordan, Scalise, and Hern, although it seems that’s no longer happening.

“People already thought this seemed like a circus,” one GOP lawmaker told Politico in response to the news of a televised debate. “Now, we are proving it is.”

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