This is what Kevin McCarthy agreed to in order to earn the votes of members of the House Freedom Caucus.
For background
- Kevin McCarthy.
- U.S. House Speaker.
- House Freedom Caucus.
- How McCarthy’s speaker deals will cause ‘cannibalistic brawl among extremists’.
In order to secure the speakership McCarthy was forced into a humiliating series of defeats before his deal-making and concessions finally offered enough to bring rebel members of the Freedom Caucus onboard.
Now in McCarthy’s first days as speaker, the roughly 40-member Freedom Caucus has already scored big. Several caucus members landed plum seats on rules and appropriations panels, had a role in creating a new panel to launch a far-flung investigation of the Department of Justice (DoJ) and other agencies conservatives argue are “weaponized”
against them, and stand to benefit from the gutting of House ethics oversight.
- What the Freedom Caucus wants from Kevin McCarthy in the House speaker fight.
The rules that Freedom Caucus members and other conservatives want to change guide how much power rank-and-file members have vis a vis House leaders, who will decide what bills get taken up by committees and whether the House launches high-profile investigations into the Biden family in the coming year.- Click here for the letter sent by the Freedom Caucus to McCarthy.
The Freedom Caucus’ targets extend beyond the much-discussed debate over the “motion to vacate,” the rule that lets lawmakers propose a vote on the speakership.
. . . They asked for a new congressional committee “with subpoena authority” dedicated toward investigating what they called a “weaponized government.” They urged McCarthy to use must-pass legislation, like spending bills, as a tool to shove conservative priorities — like a ban on vaccine mandates — through a divided Congress.
And they demanded that conservatives gain seats on key congressional committees. Committee chairs have the power to steer which bills are passed and sent to the House floor, but House leaders have rarely put members of the House Freedom Caucus in charge of committees, limiting the group’s influence.
“Conservatives are dramatically underrepresented on the so-called ‘A’ committees (e.g. Appropriations, Energy & Commerce, Ways & Means, etc.),” the letter to McCarthy read. “Of the 20 ‘standing’ committees in the House, only one is led by a [House Freedom Caucus] member.”
Conversations have also involved the House taking up specific bills addressing border policy and balancing the budget — requests that, Gaetz said, McCarthy refused to agree to.
- House rules changes breeze through the chamber following a bitter speaker fight.
Among the key rules changes conservatives won are:
Just one member to sponsor a motion to remove the speaker, instead of requiring a majority of either party. McCarthy had resisted this change, instead seeking a compromise that would require five members to advance the motion. But conservatives noted the threshold had historically been one member, until Democrats voted to change it under then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2019.
The establishment of a "Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government." The subcommittee is expected to investigate what conservatives see as the politicization of the FBI and DOJ.
72 hours notice before voting on a bill.
- 4 deals Kevin McCarthy made to become speaker, explained.
Letting the far right help make the rules
Making it easy for his fellow Republicans to fire him
Making tax increases and new spending easier to block
Guaranteeing a vote on congressional term limits
- McCarthy paid a steep price for his Speakership—Now what?
Unlike past factions that often occupied the political center, making common cause with minority party lawmakers, far-right Freedom Caucus members generally hail from safe red seats and often vote against large bipartisan deals. Some of them spearheaded efforts to keep former President Trump in office after he lost the 2020 election, and almost all of the returning members voted in the wake of the January 6 attack on the Capitol to overturn the results of the presidential election.
Many Freedom Caucus members demanded that Republican leaders loosen the procedural reins. That’s because in recent decades, House majorities have centralized authority over the agenda in leaders’ hands. So long as majority party leaders maintain the support of their rank and file, leaders call the shots on which bills advance to the floor and block votes on politically charged amendments.
Some say McCarthy’s opponents wanted to “democratize” the rules, for example demanding that GOP leaders restore amendment free-for-alls on the House floor. Both parties’ leaders have steered clear of so-called “open rules” in recent years to avoid controversial votes. (In fact, Republicans’ last dust up over amendments occurred in 2015 when conservatives wanted to allow the Confederate flag to fly over federal cemeteries.) More likely, Freedom Caucus members want open rules to advance their own policy and political agendas and force lawmakers to take votes on Caucus priorities.
- What’s The Deal With The Freedom Caucus?
- What Kevin McCarthy Gave Up to Become House Speaker.
It’ll be easier to boot the speaker
Far-right Republicans may get highly coveted committee assignments
Big House rules changes are coming
The debt ceiling can’t be raised—without some compromises
A new subcommittee is coming
More freedom in Republican primaries
