House GOP moves to block late-week suspension votes
Source: Roll Call
Posted January 3, 2025 at 7:26pm, Updated January 4, 2025 at 9:10am
A last-minute insertion into House Republicans’ rules package for the 119th Congress substantially raises the bar for voting on legislation under suspension of the rules late in the week or over the weekend, in a concession to conservatives upset about recent deals with Democrats on big-ticket spending bills.
The change requires the House to adopt a special rule to consider bills under suspension of the rules — which bars amendments but requires the support of two-thirds of members present and voting for passage — on any days other than Mondays, Tuesdays or Wednesdays. House GOP leaders added the suspension language to the rules package shortly before it hit the floor Friday evening and in the aftermath of a somewhat messy speaker election that saw some conservatives initially hold out for concessions in how the chamber operates.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was reelected on the first ballot despite some drama. Reps. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., and Keith Self, R-Texas, initially voted for other candidates but later backed Johnson following conversations with President-elect Donald Trump, providing the decisive votes. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., did not vote for Johnson.
House Main Street Caucus Chairman Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., said that “a number” of Republicans who “were trying to decide how to vote on the rules package did care about how the suspension calendar played out, those are part of the ongoing negotiations about how we are going to play together as a team.” The House adopted the new rules package on a 215-209 vote late Friday.
Read more: https://rollcall.com/2025/01/03/house-gop-moves-to-block-late-week-suspension-votes/
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