Democrats decry ‘extreme MAGA’ House rules legislation proposed by Republicans
Cami Mondeaux
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As Republicans take control of the House on Tuesday and prepare to usher in a new era of chamber rules, Democrats are decrying the GOP majority’s agenda as being overly partisan and out of touch with voters.
Members of the 118th Congress are set to be sworn in at noon on Tuesday, marking the beginning of new leadership and priorities for the next two years. House Republicans will hold a 222-213 majority, paving the way for the party to have oversight of the lower chamber’s rules and procedures for the first time since 2018.
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It’s customary for the House to adopt new rules at the beginning of each Congress that dictate how lawmakers carry out its proceedings, according to House rules. Republicans unveiled their proposals for House rule changes over the weekend, with GOP leader Kevin McCarthy making several key concessions in an effort to win support from far-right defectors in his party to back his speakership bid.
However, Democrats have decried the newly proposed rule changes as being too extreme and against voters’ interests.
“The Extreme MAGA Republicans have apparently learned nothing from their historic underperformance in the midterm elections. Instead of seeking common ground to solve problems for everyday Americans, the new majority is clearly determined to put extreme partisan politics over the people we are all privileged to represent,” said incoming House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) in a statement Monday.
Among the new rule changes include proposals to lower the threshold on the motion to vacate the speaker’s chair, a key compromise McCarthy agreed to in order to secure enough votes. The change would lower the number of votes needed to call for a floor vote to vacate the speaker’s chair, giving critics a way to oust him from the leadership position if they disapprove of his performance.
Other proposed rules would establish a new Judiciary subcommittee tasked with investigating the Biden administration on several fronts, as well as a move to prevent congressional staff from unionizing, among other things.
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Democrats criticized the House rules legislation as caving to the most extreme far-right GOP lawmakers rather than pushing for a bipartisan working environment.
“Instead of building on Democrats’ work to create a more accommodating Congress, Republican leaders have once again caved to the most extreme members of their own caucus,” said Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA). “[They’re] allowing the far-right to hold the incoming Speaker hostage; attempting to end Congressional staff unionization; reinstating CUTGO so they can more easily cut taxes on billionaire corporations while slashing the social safety net; giving committee chairs unbalanced discretion over which witnesses can and cannot testify; rejecting commonsense pandemic safety procedures like remote voting by proxy; and reinstating the Holman rule so they can target civil servants they disagree with.”