House Republicans move to change rules for vacating speakership 1 year after McCarthy's ousting

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Republicans are expected to change House rules and make it more difficult to oust a speaker of the House, just one year after a single GOP lawmaker initiated the first-ever removal of a member from the position.

Former Rep. Kevin McCarthy was elected speaker of the House in January 2023 but was not elected on the first ballot. It took lawmakers four days and 15 votes to finally find consensus and back McCarthy for the position, but the infighting did not stop there.

House rules currently allow for one lawmaker to have the ability to introduce a motion to vacate the speakership and initiate a vote on the floor. So, when former Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz introduced a motion to vacate McCarthy from the top House post, a vote was initiated, and enough support resulted in his ousting.

Current House Speaker Mike Johnson, left, and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. (Getty Images)

However, House Republicans are seeking to change this rule and make it harder to vacate the chamber's top post in the future.

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McCarthy's ousting led to the chamber being without an official speaker for two months in 2023, raising the question whether one lawmaker alone should be given the ability to introduce such a motion.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson listens during a news conference following the Republican conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 17, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Kent Nishimura)

Under the new proposed House rules package released on Wednesday, Republicans are seeking to alter the rules to require that a lawmaker obtain eight co-sponsors in order to introduce a motion to vacate the speakership.

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According to the rule, a member and their co-sponsors must be in the "majority party," meaning that only Republicans, who currently have the majority, hold the power to introduce a vacate motion for the next two years.

Former Rep. Kevin McCarthy was ousted from the speakership on Oct. 4, 2023. (Valerie Plesch/Getty Images)

The rule was blasted by Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., who said that the proposed changes would "shield the Speaker from accountability to the entire chamber."

"The American people did not vote for whatever the hell this is — and you better believe that Democrats will not let Republicans turn the House of Representatives into a rubber stamp for their extremist policies," McGovern said, according to Axios. 

Rep. Jim McGovern said that the proposed changes would "shield the Speaker from accountability to the entire chamber," Axios reported. (Tom Williams)

The proposed rules package is set to be voted on once a speaker is elected and the 119th Congress is gaveled in. The first speaker vote is set to take place this Friday.

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Current House Speaker Mike Johnson is seeking re-election for the position. There is currently one GOP member, Rep. Thomas Massie, who said that he would not vote for Johnson. However, the speaker recently received a roaring endorsement from President-elect Donald Trump.