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The House Rules Committee voted 9-3 to advance a series of bills providing aid to Israel, Ukraine and other allies, after Democrats took the unusual step of supporting procedural votes on Republican bills. It was approved.
Republican Reps. Chip Roy, Thomas Massey, and Ralph Norman were angry that aid to Ukraine was not combined with conservative border security provisions, as House Speaker Mike Johnson had previously pushed. Voted against this rule.
Thursday night's vote will allow the full House to vote on the rules and begin consideration of the foreign aid bill. Various parts of the package are expected to be passed by a bipartisan coalition this weekend.
Ahead of the vote, Democratic leaders had not committed to supporting the rule because the document was not yet available. But they said they were open to the possibility and committed to passing foreign aid.
“We're going to do what it takes to make sure this national security bill crosses the finish line,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Thursday morning.
It virtually never happens that a minority supports a majority decision. As a result, Mr. Johnson and his predecessor, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, have seen several rules fail on the floor, largely due to opposition from the right wing of the party.
Aid moves on, but threat to Johnson remains
The rules do not raise the bar for filing a motion to remove a chair, as several members of the Republican conference have called for. Currently, only one member is required to bring such a motion. Prime Minister Boris Johnson wrote on social media Thursday morning that the House of Commons “will continue to govern under its existing rules”, although he is reportedly considering changes.
Since the beginning of the 118th Congress, House rules allowing a motion to vacate by a single member have been damaging to the office and the House majority.
A number of members have recently encouraged me to support new rules to raise this threshold. Although I understand the importance…
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) April 18, 2024
Republican Reps. Massie Taylor Greene and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia are co-sponsoring a motion to vacate the speakership, but so far it has not been brought to the floor for a vote. .
Rep. Mike Lawler, a moderate Republican from New York's battleground district, said Thursday morning that the threshold should be changed “immediately.”
“Even if it needs to get done, it should get done,” Lawlor said. “If Mike Johnson were to be removed from office simply because he provided support to our allies in the chamber, it would, firstly, cause even more prolonged chaos. And secondly, the next speaker… It's going to be very difficult to do 'the right thing at the right time. ”
But several hardliners spoke out against the change ahead of Thursday's Rules Committee meeting.
“If he uses the Democratic vote on the Rules Committee with a rule to change his resignation motion, he will prove exactly what I am saying. ,” Green said.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) introduced a motion in October to remove Mr. McCarthy from office, but he is no longer supporting Mr. Johnson's removal.
“I'm concerned that a lot of the discussion about changing the standard for motions to vacate will become a self-fulfilling prophecy that will lead to motions to vacate,” Gaetz said. “I think this is a very unwise decision in a series of very unwise decisions that we've seen.”
Rep. Anthony D'Esposito (RN.Y.) said the House's moderate Republican Main Street Caucus plans to send a letter to Mr. Johnson soon urging him to consider raising the threshold further.
“We need to change the fact that we can hold a conference hostage to one person and, frankly, we can hold this institution hostage,” D'Esposito told CNN's Jake Tapper. Ta.
Most Democrats have not said whether they would help bail out Mr. Johnson if a motion to resign is brought to the floor.