A motion to vacate, the process for removing the speaker, will now require nine sponsors to be considered on the House floor. The House Republican leadership revealed their new rules for the 119th Congress Wednesday, including a measure making it more difficult to remove the speaker of the House.
The speaker, Mike Johnson, and other Republicans shared the change in the rules during a press conference in November after the party’s leadership elections. A motion to vacate, the process for removing the speaker, will now require nine sponsors to be considered on the House floor.
“A resolution causing a vacancy in the Office of the Speaker shall not be privileged except if it is offered by a member of the majority party and has accumulated eight co-sponsors from the majority party at the time it is offered,” the package says.
During the 118th Congress, just one lawmaker was needed to be able to push for a vote on the floor to vacate the chair to remove the speaker. Former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz used a motion to vacate to prompt the removal of then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy in the weeks leading up to Johnson’s ascension.
Following the election of a speaker, the House will vote on the rules package, which needs a simple majority to pass. With a narrow majority and no Democratic help expected, Johnson cannot afford to lose many Republican votes. This vote usually takes place after the election of the speaker and the swearing-in of members.
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