House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) laid out potential concessions during a call with a small group of members on Friday afternoon. With the speaker’s vote just days away, the California Republican is making a final push to persuade potential defectors as he looks to secure the support needed to secure the gavel.
As conservatives fight for the parliamentary procedure to be fully restored so that any member can request the expulsion of a sitting speaker, four sources acquainted with the call said that the discussion centered heavily on prospective amendments to the motion to vacate the chair.
McCarthy made the suggestion to reduce the need to five members in an effort to appease his detractors, who contend the mechanism is required to hold the speakership accountable. The instrument, which Democrats changed when they seized the majority, allowing only the majority leader to have the right to file the motion, has been criticized for its potential to be used as a weapon to influence legislative decisions. If the motion to vacate the chair is completely restored, centrists have threatened to veto the rules package.
The Freedom Caucus believes that five is preferable to one. One caller expressed his dislike for the prospective new barrier by saying, “I don’t personally like it.”
According to a senior GOP source, some callers were dissatisfied that McCarthy did not directly inform them of the possibility of changing the motion to vacate; rather, the notion was first reported by CNN on Thursday evening.
The Washington Examiner quoted the insider as saying, “It’s not going to go well when we discover more about the regulations package from the press before this conversation.”
McCarthy reportedly asked conservative Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) and House Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry (R-PA), neither of whom has pledged to vote for McCarthy, if they were any closer to an agreement. According to a senior Republican, their reaction was “noncommittal,” and they acknowledged that some conservatives had issues that went beyond the rules package but provided no details on what else might be done to change the situation.
Although McCarthy still lacks the votes required to win the job, two sources indicated they anticipate talks to go on for the foreseeable future.
There is now no tangible package on display, but if support exists, we might reach some agreements, according to one senator.
McCarthy can lose just four votes on the floor if his detractors decide not to vote or choose to cast a present vote to lower the threshold since Republicans are only facing a thin majority after missing their projected red wave.
Five Republicans, including Reps. Matt Gaetz, Andy Biggs (R-AZ), the former chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, and (R-FL). Several Republicans, including Bob Good (R-VA), Ralph Norman (R-SC), and Matt Rosendale (R-MY), have sworn to vote against him, while others have hinted that they are considering doing the same. In addition to the motion to vacate, another group of conservatives has outlined a list of demands for significant changes to House rules, including better committee positions and chairmanships for hard-right lawmakers, spending restraints, a ban on leadership playing in primary elections, and a return to regular order.
