Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Less than a week after a majority of members in the House of Representatives voted to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker, a group of 45 GOP representatives signed on to a letter to Republican leadership demanding changes to chamber rules.
On Monday, Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz filed a "motion to vacate" to formally begin the process of removing McCarthy from his leadership post. A day later, Democrats voted in lockstep alongside eight Republicans to form the simple majority needed to boot the California native, the first time that's happened in US history.
Rep. Patrick McHenry is currently serving as the interim speaker of the House until the chamber can collectively decide on a new one, but before that vote happens, there's a contingency of Republicans trying to ensure the next full-fledged speaker won't suffer a similar as McCarthy.
In a letter obtained by Punchbowl News dated October 5, 45 GOP representatives signed a letter noting they were "ashamed and embarrassed by what happened on the Floor this week," and that they "refuse to allow the eight members who abandoned and undermined our Conference to dictate every outcome in policy and personnel for the remainder of this Congress, including the upcoming selection of the Speaker of the House."
While the letter dictates the members believe changes need to be made to House rules regarding filing a "motion to vacate," it does not specify any specific changes. At the moment, it only takes one member of the House to be able to file the "motion to vacate," a rule that's been in place for the vast majority of the past few centuries.
In the immediate sessions prior to McCarthy's speakership, the House was led by former Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Under her leadership, House rules were tweaked to add additional layers of difficulty in filing a "motion to vacate."
When Republicans took back control of the House following the 2022 election, however, McCarthy was ultimately only able to become speaker after making concessions to several GOP holdouts, one of which was to ensure it only took one member to file the "motion to vacate."
The group of GOP members who signed on to Thursday's letter throws a proverbial wrench into the ongoing speakership drama. As it currently stands, Republicans possess a very slim majority in House and it takes a simple majority to amend House rules.
But if even a handful of Republicans are against amending the rules surrounding the "motion to vacate," no changes will be possible unless a contingency of Democrats decides to back the motion, which there's no guarantee of happening.
