A motion to vacate is a rare and strong procedural tool that has only been used twice in the past century against Republican speakers.
In January, McCarthy, hoping to appease some on the hard right like Gaetz as he fought to gain their vote for speaker, agreed to give as few as five Republican members the ability to initiate a vote to remove him. But when that wasn’t good enough for his critics, he agreed to reduce that threshold to one — the system that historically has been the norm.
However, there are several procedural motions that members of either party could introduce to slow down or stop the process altogether. If those tactics were to fail, and his resolution came to the floor for a vote, it would take a simple majority of the House — 218 votes, when no seats are vacant — to remove McCarthy from his post.
Other far-right members and allies of Gaetz were less sure. Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., said his position on the motion was “to be determined.” Still, showing the tough road ahead to win over conservative support for ousting the speaker, one leading hardliner, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., said, “It’s a really bad idea.”
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