House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s allies are scrambling to head off a right-wing revolt to oust the California Republican from his job and turning to the constituency that now suddenly holds the cards: House Democrats.
One idea moderate Republicans are proposing to get Democrats on board with saving McCarthy, according to multiple lawmakers familiar with the discussions, is to revise the rules package that governs how the House operates – including making it harder for any single member to force a vote to remove the speaker, a tool known as the “motion to vacate.” They’re also discussing making changes to the powerful House Rules Committee, which is responsible for how bills are brought to the floor, sources said.
McCarthy to Gaetz: Bring it on
The sales pitch to Democrats is less about protecting McCarthy and more about putting an end to the dysfunction that has gripped the House – and allowing them to get back to the business of governing.
“If the (motion to vacate) becomes a regular occurrence, we will need to revisit the rules package in a bipartisan manner,” Pennsylvania GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, told CNN.
But moderate Republicans may have a tough time convincing the majority of Democrats, whose distrust for McCarthy runs deep and who were turned off by his last-minute decision to pass a 45-day funding bill that punts on Ukraine aid, narrowly averting a shutdown after refusing for weeks to look at bipartisan solutions. All but one Democrat ended up supporting the legislation.
“The Democrats…
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