Republicans pitch rule change to internal speaker nominations in effort to avoid floor fight

A group of nearly 100 House Republicans is requesting a meeting to make a temporary change to the internal rules for nominating a House speaker in hopes of avoiding a lengthy fight on the floor of the House of Representatives next week.

The request calls for a special meeting of House Republicans to consider raising the threshold for nominating a candidate from a simple majority of the party conference to a majority of the House as a whole, according to the Hill.

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A majority in the House currently would require 217 votes, and there are 221 Republicans in the House, which means the nomination would have to be nearly unanimous.

“Pursuant to House Republican Conference Rule 6(d)(2)(A), we request a special organizational meeting for the purpose of consideration of an amendment to House Republican Conference Rules to temporarily raise the threshold needed to elect a Speaker,” the 94 lawmakers said in a letter to Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-NC) and conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) on Friday, according to the Hill.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a senior member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, leaves a closed-door meeting with fellow Republicans at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023.

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

The request, led by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), comes after a handful of Republican lawmakers successfully forced former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to vacate the speaker’s chair on Tuesday. The eight conservatives, led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), secured the necessary votes by teaming with the chamber’s Democrats, who all voted in favor of removing McCarthy.

The lower chamber is expected to hold a vote next week on who will replace McCarthy as speaker, with House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) vying for the spot.

The effort to shore up the process of selecting the new speaker comes after the House took 15 rounds to elect McCarthy in January. It also comes as Congress attempts to secure federal funding for fiscal 2024.

Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) urged the party to unite around one leader, claiming January’s events should not be repeated.

“We need to be coming together and coalescing around a speaker. I don’t think we should go do it out there on the House floor like was done in January, and we looked like a bunch of idiots,” Graves said earlier this week. “I think those conversations need to be had behind closed doors, have the candid discussions, then come out once we’ve coalesced … and do it on the House floor.”

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The House Republican conference is scheduled to have a closed-door candidate forum on Tuesday, followed by a nominating election on Wednesday.

The Washington Examiner has reached out to Roy’s communications director for comment.

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