House GOP reaches deal to make it harder to oust speaker

Source: CBS News

November 13, 2024 / 8:18 PM EST


Washington — House Republicans said they have reached a deal to raise the threshold to oust their speaker on Wednesday as the party seeks to project a unified front after winning control of the White House and both chambers of Congress. The leaders of the House Freedom Caucus and the Main Street Caucus, two influential factions, said they have an agreement to change the rule that allowed a single member to trigger a no-confidence vote to remove the speaker.

The House Freedom Caucus agreed to increase the threshold to nine members. In exchange for the increase, the Main Street Caucus would drop proposed rule changes that sought to punish those who defied the majority of the party. "We've been able to work across the conference to eliminate the controversial issues that could have divided us," Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, who chairs the House Freedom Caucus, said.

Rep. Dusty Johnson of South Dakota, who leads the Main Street Caucus, said Harris reached out to him Wednesday morning to broker a deal, telling him "unity is important." Johnson conceded that some of the proposed rule changes "probably would have divided this conference." "Because of this agreement, we are in a better position to move forward the Republican agenda," Johnson said.

Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, a member of the Main Street Caucus, said the proposals were made because they wanted members who rebelled to be held accountable. "We were very let down by the actions of some in…this current Congress," he said. Infighting has made it difficult for Republicans, who have a razor-thin majority, to govern over the last two years.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/house-republicans-motion-to-vacate-speaker-agreement/