A group of nearly four dozen House Republicans is demanding a dramatic overhaul to the chamber rules after former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s historic ouster.
“The injustice we all witnessed cannot go unaddressed — lest we bear responsibility for the consequences that follow. Our Conference must address fundamental changes to the structure of our majority to ensure success for the American people,” 45 House GOP lawmakers said in a letter to colleagues on Thursday.
McCarthy, R-Calif., had the speaker’s gavel taken away on Tuesday after Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., called for a procedure known as a motion to vacate the chair on Monday night. Under terms McCarthy hashed out to secure the speakership in January, just one lawmaker can call for the motion to vacate, setting up a mandatory vote within 48 hours.
Republican Reps. Kevin McCarthy, left, and Matt Gaetz. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images | Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images)
‘SHELL SHOCKED’ KEVIN MCCARTHY WILL NOT RUN FOR HOUSE SPEAKER AGAIN FOLLOWING REMOVAL
The lawmakers said they were “ashamed and embarrassed” by the episode, according to the letter obtained by Fox News Digital.
“Earlier this week, eight Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives joined in an alliance with 208 Democrats to adopt a motion to vacate the Speaker of the House,” they wrote.
Now-former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy speaks to reporters as he arrives at the U.S. Capitol on May 25, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
HERE ARE 4 OF THE LIKELY CONTENDERS TO REPLACE MCCARTHY AS SPEAKER
“That translates to less than 4 percent of our Republican Conference joining with all Democrats to override the will of the remaining 96 percent of House Republicans on one of the most consequential votes the House has taken in over a century.”
They lauded McCarthy as “one of the most accomplished speakers in modern history.”
Rep. Matt Gaetz is seen after a meeting of the House Republican Conference in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“Ashamed and embarrassed by what happened on the Floor this week, we refuse to allow the eight members who abandoned and undermined our Conference to dictate every outcome in policy and personnel for the remainder of this Congress, including the upcoming selection of the Speaker of the House,” the letter said.
HOUSE VOTES TO REMOVE KEVIN MCCARTHY AS SPEAKER IN HISTORIC FIRST
Intraparty tensions have boiled over in the wake of McCarthy’s ouster. It has made the motion to vacate rule a lightening rod in the current speakership race, with some GOP hardliners insisting it remain, while a majority of the conference have called for its threshold to be hiked above just one member — and others have floated scrapping it altogether.
“It is our responsibility to identify the right person at this moment to lead us into the future to achieve the conservative policy objectives that we and the American people all share,” the letter said.
“We cannot allow our majority to be dictated to by the alliance between the chaos caucus and the minority party that will do nothing more than guarantee the failure of our next Speaker,” it continued.
Signatories include Reps. Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D., Jen Kiggans, R-Va., Anthony D’Esposito, R-N.Y., Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., as well as Main Street Caucus leaders Dusty Johnson, R-S.D. and Stephanie Bice, R-Okla.
