After the shocking withdrawal of Majority Leader Steve Scalise from the campaign for speaker of the House, Republicans are meeting behind closed doors once more on Friday. Before moving on to a vote on the floor, Republican lawmakers will discuss four proposed amendments to the House Republican Conference Rules at a meeting that begins at 10 a.m. and requires attendees to check their cellphones at the door. The purpose of the meeting is to raise the threshold that must be met in order to nominate a candidate for the speakership.
Before being put to a vote on the House floor, three of these amendments want to make it a requirement that a speaker-elect must first win the backing of a majority of members of the entire House. Because of this criterion, long discussions behind closed doors are likely to take place, as a potential candidate for speaker can only afford to lose the support of four members of the Republican Party and still win without the need for votes from Democrats.
In addition, two of these amendments, which were proposed by Representative Chip Roy of Texas and Representative Bill Huizenga of Michigan, stipulate that a candidate would be compelled to take part in a question-and-answer session with the conference if they did not receive the necessary 217 votes during the first round of a secret ballot. This proposal was made by these two representatives. In addition, Roy’s amendment says that candidates would have a maximum of three opportunities at a secret ballot vote, and that if they did not meet the threshold of 217 votes, then other candidates would be considered.
In the meanwhile, Huizenga’s amendment proposes a punitive approach for members who openly support a speaker designate within the context of the GOP conference meeting but who later vote against them on the House floor. Members who behaved in this manner would be removed from their committee responsibilities.
Rep. William Timmons of South Carolina is the one who proposed the fourth amendment, which seeks to raise the bar to 218 votes and calls for a question-and-answer session. This amendment does not stipulate a particular amount of voting rounds to take place.
The prior election of Majority Leader Steve Scalise as the candidate for speaker of the House of Representatives by the Republican Party, which he won with a simple majority, served as the backdrop for these developments. Initially, there was talk that a full-floor vote may take place on the same day. However, it became apparent that Scalise and his supporters had miscalculated the massive opposition he faced.
Although it is probable that House Republicans may vote on a new speaker candidate during this conference, as of the early hours of Friday morning, no official candidacy declaration had been made by any of the candidates. All eyes are on Ohio Representative Jim Jordan, who is the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. Earlier in the week, Jordan received 99 votes, while Scalise received 113 votes. Additionally, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer and Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry have also been mentioned as possible contenders; however, neither has come out and stated that they are interested in running for the position of Speaker of the House. The conclusion of this meeting might have a considerable impact on the choice of who will be the next candidate for the position of speaker.