Staff Reports
As the new House speaker, Kevin McCarthy will be facing his first test of leadership as members of the House prepare to vote on a rules package.
The House will vote on the rules package on Monday, which will guide the House for the next two years. In order to secure the support of his fellow Republicans, McCarthy agreed to various concessions. Some of these include measures that would weaken his position as the speaker while giving more power to rank-and-file members.
If the rules package passes, McCarthy will only be able to lose four votes. These are the number of Democrats who will be absent from the House when the bill is passed.
McCarthy faces first test of GOP unity
The vote on the rules package is the first test of House Republican unity since McCarthy was elected as the new speaker last week. He secured the position through a series of concessions.
Some of the disagreements within the Republican Party revolved around the House rules package. Right-wingers pushed for rules that would prevent McCarthy from becoming the speaker. One of the concessions that McCarthy agreed to included a provision that would reduce the number of members required to trigger a floor vote to remove a sitting speaker.
The House will be closely watching to see if the rules package can be passed in a timely manner following the four-day and 15-round election of McCarthy as the new speaker.
Last week, US President Joe Biden criticized the way the House and Senate were dealing with one another. He said it was embarrassing for the country and called on the members to get their act together.
Despite the various concessions that McCarthy made, his allies in the House still support the rules package. They intend to back it when the House takes up the bill.
According to Kelly Armstrong, a Republican from North Dakota, the power that the rules package would give to rank-and-file members would be beneficial for the House.
Opposition already peeking through the cracks
However, Tony Gonzalez, a Republican from Texas, said he would not support the rules package due to its provisions that would lead to deep cuts in defense spending.
Despite McCarthy's victory in last week's election, he may not be able to secure the necessary votes to pass the rules package. Some members of the Republican Party have expressed their concerns about the provisions in the bill.
"During an appearance on CBS News' Face the Nation, Gonzales said that he would be traveling to Taiwan in the next couple of weeks. He noted that he would be asking his allies for more money, but the US would be reducing its defense budget."
Some Republican members of the House said they would not support the rules package because the party leaders did not provide enough transparency regarding the deals that were made during the election.
One of the Republican members of the House who questioned the transparency of the deals made during the campaign was Nancy Mace, who said that she did not know what was promised to the members. She noted that she and her colleagues did not have the necessary information to make informed decisions.
What McCarthy concessions have made it into the rules package?
Despite the concerns about the lack of transparency, House members are still expected to vote on various concessions that McCarthy made in order to secure the gavel.
One of the measures that McCarthy made it into the rules package is a requirement that would prevent members from voting on raising the debt ceiling unless they also propose spending cuts to balance the budget. This would eliminate the provision that allows them to increase taxes to pay for additional spending.
Another provision that McCarthy made into the rules package is the reinstatement of the "Holman rule," which allows members to propose amendments that would reduce the salaries or benefits of federal employees.
The preceding is a summary of an article that originally appeared on Washington Examiner.
