House Republicans reached an agreement to introduce a motion to clear the threshold.
Currently, House Republican Conference rules require only one member to introduce a motion to remove the speaker, which would trigger a vote by the entire chamber.
But the deal was brokered at a conference hosted by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) and included members of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus and the pragmatic Main Street Caucus, and one The standard was raised to nine.
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House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) may find some breathing room with some new rules agreements. (Getty Images)
In return, members of the Main Street Caucus agreed to rescind several proposed changes to House Republican rules that would have punished Republican members who voted against the will of the majority.
The one-person standard was part of the deal former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) struck with conservatives in January 2022 to win the gavel.
That came back to haunt Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) when he ultimately triggered a vote in October 2023 that led to his expulsion by all House Democrats and eight Republicans. Ta.
It has also been a threat to Johnson since he succeeded McCarthy.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) specifically used the same rule in March to trigger a vote to expel Mr. Johnson. But enough House Democrats helped Republicans block it by voting to “hold” the vote in the full House indefinitely.
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Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-Florida, left) has triggered the removal of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) with a motion to resign. (Getty)
House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris (R-Md.) and Main Street Caucus Chairman Dusty Johnson (D) acknowledged the agreement in brief comments to reporters Wednesday evening.
” It all started this morning when I received a call from Dr. Harris. He said, “Listen, we have to make a deal.'' We need to come together. 'Unity is important,' Johnson said.
“We spent over an hour together. We made good progress. We understood that we had an opportunity to set the eviction motion to a higher number…The eviction motion was set for 9 p.m. “In exchange for removing some of them,” there would probably have been an amendment that would have divided the meeting. ”
The Main Street Caucus chair said Harris “did a good job of explaining to mainstream leadership why these amendments will divide the Republican conference.”
Moderate and rank-and-file Republicans have been pushing to raise the threshold since late last year, arguing it would only add to the chaos within House Republicans.
But Republican hardliners argued it would give power to members who are not part of the House Republican leadership.
A fifth person who spoke to FOX News Digital emphasized that the agreement is preliminary, classifying it as a “proposed” agreement and that “it's not over until there's an agreement.” he added.
House Republicans are scheduled to vote on proposed changes to the conference rules on Thursday.
Democrats are quietly worried about losing the chamber after Republicans win the White House and the Senate.
After McCarthy's ouster, Johnson was elected chairman. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The news came shortly after Johnson was unanimously elected speaker by House Republicans, two additional people told Fox News Digital.
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Conservatives critical of Johnson's handling of foreign aid and government spending had threatened to delay his victory by forcing a secret vote without giving him unanimous consent.
However, after the meeting, he appeared to back off from that threat, which delayed the leadership election by about an hour and a half.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Johnson's office for comment.
