On Monday, Republican Colorado Representative Lauren Boebert announced she would not vote for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for Speaker unless there is an easy way to remove him from office. We need “some accountability mechanism on the Speaker of the House,” Boebert stated at a Turning Point USA conference in Phoenix.
In an interview with the conservative station “Real America’s Voice,” she declared, “This is third in command for the presidency of the United States of America.” And we’re going to take away the one safeguard that Congress has against abuse of power?
Some Republicans in the House are pushing for a change that would allow any legislator to initiate a motion to remove the Speaker from office.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) changed the motion to vacate rule so that it now needs the support of a supermajority of her caucus members to be used. After a Republican congressman used the move to force then-Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to resign in 2015, Pelosi modified the rule.
McCarthy is trying to become the next Speaker of the House in January with a thin GOP majority, but he is being opposed by a small band of far-right MPs.
Although the Republican conference voted in his favor last month, the House minority leader still needs a floor victory in January to become Speaker.
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The far-right House Freedom Caucus chairman, Scott Perry (R-Pa.), led six other GOP members this month in presenting a list of demands for the next Speaker, including one to reinstate the rule permitting any member to petition for a motion to vacate.
Boebert said on Monday that the reinstatement of the motion to vacate should serve as the starting point for any negotiations.
She essentially suggested that any further negotiations were a wish list. The promises are unbacked by any responsibility.
