e Freedom Caucus proposes the removal of the speaker in exchange for McCarthy’s gavel In exchange for its support of Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s ascension, the House Freedom Caucus is pushing to change the congressional rule that would make it easier for a House speaker to be removed. The Freedom Caucus wants to include a provision in the House Rules package that allows any member to make a motion to remove the speaker’s seat at any time. This is something it will push for if Republicans are elected to control the House. The parliamentary strategy would allow hardline members to force a vote on keeping the speaker. This is a process conservatives used to paralyze Congress during the Tea Party era. “Every member of Congress was elected in order to legislate for their constituents,” stated Rep. Andy Biggs (an Arizona Republican and former leader the Freedom Caucus). “To do this, members must be able hold their leadership accountable.” Hardline Republicans view allowing members to propose a motion to remove the chair as an insurance policy. Many fear that McCarthy, once given the speaker’s podium, will refuse to threaten a partial shutdown of government in an attempt to persuade President Biden to change his policy. MCCARTHY WORKS TIGHTROPE ON SPEAKERSHIP, AFTER GOP FIZZLES Only twice were motions to remove the chair made between 1910 and 2015. The first time, Democrats failed to remove GOP Speaker Joseph Gurney Cannon because he was a ruler with what many believed was an iron fist. After Republicans refused to follow their leader, the vote was ultimately lost. It was again threatened by Mark Meadows, the former Chairman of Freedom Caucus in North Carolina, in July 2015. Meadows attempted to force a vote on Republican Speaker John Boehner’s decision to remove him from the House Oversight Committee because he voted against a trade bill. PELOSI “IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT” IF SHE WANTS TO STAY TOP DEM IN HOUSE BEFORE STRONG MIDTERMS. EXPERTS SAY Boehner’s close aides in leadership prevented the motion from being sent directly to the floor. Instead, it was sent to the House Rules Committee for review. After conservatives had indicated that they would not abandon the issue, Boehner resigned three months later. McCarthy attempted to become speaker after Boehner’s resignation but was stopped by the Freedom Caucus. The nearly two dozen members of the Freedom Caucus had a veto because Republican held only a narrow majority. Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican and Boehner’s successor, agreed to run for the top position after receiving a pledge by the Freedom Caucus that it would never try to oust him the same way. Speaker Nancy Pelosi amended the rules of the House to make it clear that only a party leader can offer a motion for vacate when Democrats took control in 2018. “The House cannot function if anyone can take entire chamber hostage at any time over a minor disagreement with the speaker,” a senior House Republican aide stated at the time. Biggs, who was the president of the Arizona State Senate before running to Congress, disagrees. He stated that the House Freedom Caucus has called for this change, along with other changes to restore power to the body. Any true leader should be prepared to take responsibility.” As Republicans prepare to take control of the country, the fight over the motion for vacate is occurring as a result of a badly-predicted GOP wave that failed to materialize on Election Night. The Republican majority currently appears to be between 218 and 230 seats, which is the minimum required to control the House. This would allow for a sweep of all remaining races, even those in which Democrats are preferred, but it still falls short of the 60 seats McCarthy claimed were possible to win. The Freedom Caucus is made up of more than two-dozen people and has been trying to teach new members how to navigate the pressure from leadership . They know that McCarthy cannot get to 218, the number required to win a Speakership election on the House Floor, without them. The group is focusing on reforming House rules in order to give members more control and say in the legislative process. The Freedom Caucus is also pushing for a “majority-of-the majority” rule, which would require that any legislation passed in the House must be supported at least by a majority of the GOP conference. It also wants to ban congressional earmarks and require that legislation be made publicly available for at most 72 hours before a vote is held. Officially, the list includes the ability to restore the ability for any member to propose a motion to remove the chair. Scott Perry, Chairman of House Freedom Caucus, stated that there were no red lines. Perry, R-Pa., stated that there are a lot of rules changes that Perry wants to see approved. “The less important the motion for the chair to be removed from the chair, the more power that is centralized in leadership and the speaker’s office.” The more power that is centralized within leadership and the speaker’s offices, the more important the motion for the chair to be removed becomes. Another House Freedom member, a stalwart, put it more clearly. “Kevin McCarthy can now decide if he wants power back to the committees or the individual members, or he could face votes on his speakership every two months,” stated the member. “The decision is his alone.”