New House GOP majority PASSES rules package with only one Republican defection

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New House GOP majority PASSES rules package with only one Republican defection – ending proxy voting, launching new select committees and allowing just one member to call a vote to oust the speaker

  • The House of Representatives passed a rules package Monday night 220-213, with only one Republican defection, that of moderate Rep. Tony Gonzales
  • Another Texas Republican, Rep. Dan Crenshaw, did not vote 
  • The package includes some, but not all, of the concessions McCarthy made to the group of 20 House Republican to win his speakership bid 
  • It also includesd the demise of proxy voting and virtual participation in Congressional committee meetings 

By Elizabeth Elkind, U.S. Political Reporter and Nikki Schwab, Senior U.S. Political Reporter For Dailymail.com

Published: | Updated:

The House of Representatives passed a rules package Monday night 220-213 with relatively little drama as the first order of business for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy‘s new majority. 

The 55-page package includes some, but not all, of the concessions McCarthy made to the group of 20 House Republicans to get his speakership bid across the line early Saturday morning and after 15 floor votes. 

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It includes the motion to vacate provision, which allows just one member to move to remove the House speaker – one of the top conservative demands.

It also does away with proxy voting and virtual participation in Congressional committee meetings – which Democrats put in place to deal with the spread of COVID in the Capitol complex. 

New House GOP majority PASSES rules package with only one Republican defection

After Friday night and Saturday morning’s drama that concluded with the election of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Monday night’s rules vote was relatively drama-free  

Rep. Tony Gonzales walks outside the Capitol in May

Rep. Tony Gonzales, a Republican from Texas, was the only ‘no’ vote on the rules package Monday night. Another Texas Republican, Rep. Dan Crenshaw, did not vote  

‘For far too long the House allowed members to do their jobs from home without ever setting foot in Washington,’ Republican Rep. Tom Cole said on the House floor. 

Cole is taking over the chairmanship of the powerful House Rules Committee and went through some of the changes included in the rules package on the House floor before voting kicked off Monday night. 

He also noted that with Republicans taking over committee leadership, the select committee that had been investigating the COVID-19 pandemic would reorient and be focused on looking into COVID’s origins and how shutdowns adversely impacted the country.  

The House Republicans are also creating a select committee on China competition.  

Republicans were also suspending the so-called ‘Gephardt Rule,’ which automatically raised the debt ceiling when a budget was passed. 

All 212 Democrats voted against the rules package. 

Only one Republican, moderate Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas, voted against it. 

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His fellow Texan, Rep. Dan Crenshaw, did not vote. 

Moderate Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina ended up voting for the package after initially saying she was on the fence.  

House Progressive Caucus leader Rep. Pramila Jayapal a ‘rules package for MAGA extremists.’

Monday marked the House’s first day back in session after Friday night and Saturday morning’s dramatic showdown that eventually allowed for McCarthy to capture the speakership. 

The House is also voting on an IRS bill that rolls back money to hire more staff.  

It took McCarthy 15 rounds of voting to finally become Speaker last week

It took McCarthy 15 rounds of voting to finally become Speaker last week

KEVIN MCCARTHY’S CONCESSIONS TO WIN HOUSE SPEAKER

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy finally earned his gavel after 15 rounds of voting last week. To win, however, he had to give into some major demands from 20 conservative dissenters. These concessions could lead to even more chaos with moderate Republicans at the start of the 118th Congress. McCarthy’s concessions include: 

RESTORING THE MOTION TO VACATE 

The motion to vacate allows any single member to call a vote to remove McCarthy as Speaker. 

VOTING ON TERM LIMITS 

A floor vote was secured to establish term limits for all House members, which is something lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have pushed for in recent years.  There are currently no term limits. 

GIVING FREEDOM CAUCUS MORE POWER 

The conservative House Freedom Caucus will receive three of the nine seats on the powerful House Rules Committee, which has a huge say in whether bills and amendments are brought to the floor.

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ENDING THE OMNIBUS 

McCarthy agreed to vote separately on spending bills instead of bundling them into a massive omnibus bill like the $1.7 trillion one that passed in December 2022.

LOWERING SPENDING 

Concessions cap government spending at lower levels implemented just two years ago. This means most programs will get cuts.

PROBES INTO PROBES  

A new Judiciary subcommittee to focus on ‘weaponization of the federal government,’ that would investigate the FBI, the DOJ’s raid of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate and Homeland Security. 

In a last-minute deal on Friday, McCarthy also agreed to allow the select subcommittee access to information shared with the House Intelligence Committee — including ‘ongoing criminal investigations.’

DECREASE GOP PRIMARY CONTESTS 

McCarthy agreed to keeping his Congressional Leadership Fund PAC money out of races against conservative members in safe districts.

REINSTATING THE HOLMAN RULE 

The Holman rule allow amendments to  reduces lawmakers’ salaries, fire federal employees and cut programs.

ADDING TIME TO REVIEW BILLS 

The concessions created a 72-hour review period to allow House members more time to review bills before they reach the floor

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