McCarthy offers concessions to detractors with House Rules package

House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) offered some key concessions to his detractors in a package of House rules released by the Republican Party on Sunday, but the move didn’t stop him from being chairman. It’s not yet clear if it will help secure the votes needed to become January 3rd.

Compromises include allowing a motion to “remove the chairman” with the approval of five Republican lawmakers, rather than at least the half-threshold of the House GOP meeting Republicans adopted in Congress. . Internal regulations in November.

The Chamber also plans to create a House Judicial Choices Subcommittee on “Weaponizing the Federal Government,” apparently acknowledging the call for increased scrutiny of the Biden administration and intelligence agencies.

In a letter to his Republican colleagues, McCarthy called himself “the next chairman” and responded to calls from conservatives for more representation on the committee.

“I will use my choices on the main panels to more closely reflect the ideological makeup of the Congress, and I will argue the same with respect to the membership of the Standing Committee. It will be easier to scrutinize and more likely to be eventually passed,” said the letter from McCarthy.

But the move hasn’t moved any of those who fear resistance will keep McCarthy away from the gavel.

“I think what he’s trying to do is the bare minimum it takes to get to a place where he can get votes. It doesn’t show someone who really wants to unite the members,” he said, voting for or against the Republican leader, he told The Hill on Sunday.

House Republicans held a New Year’s Day conference call on the rules package on Sunday afternoon. After the call, a group of nine hardline conservatives released a letter saying McCarthy’s response did not meet the criteria for a motion to remove the chairman sufficiently, defeating conservatives in an open primary. He said he did not mention that he had asked the leadership not to act on behalf of the country. .

In the letter, the members said, “It is not surprising that, at this stage, the vague hopes reflected in so many of the key points that are still being debated fall short.

But they also added, “The progress we’ve made so far should be helpful and guide our thinking going forward.”

Members who signed the letter included Rep. Perry, Rep. Chip Roy (Texas), Rep. Paul Gosar (Arizona), Rep. Dan Bishop (North Carolina), Rep. They included Rep. Clyde (Georgia), and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna. (Florida), Andy Ogles (Tennessee), Eli Crane (Arizona). Note that this group does not include her five members who are considered opponents of “Never Kevin”. (SC).

McCarthy would need a majority of all those voting for the House nominee on January 3 to secure his seat in the House, a mere 222-212 majority, which leaves McCarthy just four Republican votes. can afford. A vote on the package of rules will only take place after the House of Representatives has elected a Speaker.

The rules package also includes rule changes related to financial procedures, remote work during the pandemic, review of ethics procedures, and more.

Compromise on vacating the chair

A major problem for those withholding or opposing McCarthy’s support for Speaker of the House is restoring the ability of lawmakers to “vacate the chair” to force a vote on removing the Speaker.

Conservatives say the procedural move was a check on the powers of Congress, and then-Rep. Mark Meadows, Rn.C. , which led to former Republican Party Speaker John Boehner (Ohio) resigning from Congress later that year. However, when House Democrats won a majority, they allowed only the party leader to make a motion.

House Republicans have adopted a rule that motions can be introduced if half the meeting agrees, but McCarthy’s critics want to reduce the number required.

After much negotiation, the proposed Republican rule package lowers the threshold for bringing transfers to five Republican members.

However, Perry expressed disappointment with the proposal.

“I like leaders [former GOP Speakers] Paul Ryan [Wis.] And John Boehner, and everyone before them, had no problem working under those provisions. do you want to double the [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi [D-Calif.] “It doesn’t seem to show unity, and he’s asking his critics to trust him,” Perry said. It does not appear to indicate

Biden Administration Selects Panel to Target COVID Sources, China

Republicans will vote to create a subcommittee on “Weaponizing the Federal Government” under the House Judiciary Committee.

The creation of the Selects Subcommittee investigated allegations of government abuses by Republicans who had withheld their support for McCarthy in connection with the 1975 Senate Selects Committee, named after former Senator Frank. This is a response to a request for the establishment of a “church style” committee to Church (D-Idaho) that investigated intelligence agencies.

In a letter to a colleague, McCarthy used the same language, praising the creation of a “church-style task force dedicated to exposing the government’s weaponization of our citizens.”

The committee is expected to have the same general structure as a typical selection committee. That is, there is no separate subpoena per se. But the full Judiciary Committee, chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), has subpoena powers and is expected to aggressively target the Biden administration.

Republicans also have a task force on the coronavirus pandemic under the House Oversight Panel, but have changed its charter to focus on the origins of the virus and the impact of the shutdown.Rep. James Comer (Republican-Kentucky) will chair the full oversight committee.

Republicans also plan to vote in the first two weeks of Congress to establish a task force on the strategic competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. McCarthy announced the election of Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wisconsin) to chair the committee.

Fiscal Policy Recovery and New Inflation Analysis

Republicans have sought to reinstate the Holman Rule, which allows members to propose amendments to appropriations bills that would lower the salaries of certain federal employees or funding of certain programs to $1, effectively cutting off their budgets. doing. Some Republicans have suggested using the rule not to fund certain investigations or officials of the FBI or the Departments of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, or any other agency involved in COVID-19 policy. increase.

The hard-line conservative House of Commons Liberal caucuses had been advocating a return to the Holman rule since the summer. It was in House rules last time the 116th Congress had a Republican majority.

In a new move, Republicans will direct the Congressional Budget Office to analyze the inflationary impact of legislation in addition to its impact on the budget. Republicans have repeatedly raised the issue as inflation hits her 40-year high in 2022.

The package also restores some of the long-standing fiscal rules Democrats have removed, such as the three-fifths majority threshold for raising federal income taxes.

The Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation will also be directed to use “dynamic scoring,” a method that considers the impact of legislation on macroeconomic changes in the economy when assessing budget effectiveness. Republicans have previously used dynamic scoring to bolster their argument that tax cuts do not hurt the economy because they stimulate economic activity and increase tax revenues.

“PAYGO”, the “pay as you go” rule, which calls for laws that increase compulsory spending to offset spending cues and increased revenue, has been replaced by a “pay as you go” rule called “CUTGO”. increase. First introduced by Republicans in 2011, this variation requires the increase to be offset by an equal or greater mandatory spending cut. Both parties have frequently waived their rules for passing legislation in the past.

The end of remote work rules in the pandemic era

Gone are the proxy voting and remote work rules introduced for COVID-19, as well as fines for mask mandates. Members will no longer be able to attend hearings remotely via videoconference, and only selected non-governmental witnesses will be able to testify remotely to the Commission if they are unable to travel to Washington.

The House sergeant last week sent a memo to House staff announcing a return to pre-pandemic standards of public access to the House office building and tours starting Tuesday.

Procedural and Ethical Measures

In a blow to progressive staff efforts to unionize in parliamentary offices approved by a 2022 House resolution, the rule package “holds parliamentary staff accountable to elected officials.” , eliminates the creation of a union of House staff by Democrats. They serve,” the rule highlights summary said.

It also directs the House Ethics Committee to adopt a process for accepting complaints directly from the public rather than going through the Office of Congressional Ethics. The Ethics Committee has also been directed to conduct a bipartisan “comprehensive review” of the House’s ethics rules and regulations.

The rule also meets another demand from House conservatives, requiring at least 72 hours between the release of the bill text and a final vote.