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On St. Patrick’s Day 1910, George Norris of Nebraska introduced a resolution stripping Speaker of the House Joe Cannon, Tsar of Illinois, of some of his dictatorial powers. Norris was a progressive Republican, frustrated by the conservative Canon’s rule. He had full powers and had full control over the Rules Committee.
With so many Republican lawmakers celebrating Ireland’s patron saint, Norris figured he could sneak past a resolution that weakened Cannon’s iron grip.
Over the next few days, a congressional move filled the air, ending with the first and only time the House voted to vacate the speaker. Cannon would survive efforts to depose him, but in the process of securing his position, he had to compromise with the rebels and give up some of his power.
A century later, my former boss, Dennis Hastert (R-Illinois), gave a speech on the nature of the speakership, in which he gave advice to future office dwellers. Chief among them was the warning to always try to please the majority of the majority. Because if the chairman can do it, he will remain in power as long as he (or she) maintains the majority.
The motion to vacate the chair is not often used because it is an ineffective and ridiculous way to keep the majority in the majority. Also, it is a waste of time for minorities to seek such motions. Minority, they don’t have the right to vote.
The first time I heard of a motion to vacate the chair was when I worked for House Majority Party Tom DeLay (Republican of Texas). After a midnight plot, DeLay promised a small cohort of rebels. This included future party stars such as Lindsey Graham (Republican), Tom Coburn (Republican, Oklahoma), and Steve Largent (Republican, Oklahoma). — He will support their efforts to send a message to Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-Georgia) that his leadership is not working for most of the GOP convention.
Gingrich, realizing that he had the vote to stay as chairman, put down the rebellion.
I resigned from the House of Representatives in 2005, and when House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) faced threats from Rep. He was not there. I had no idea Boehner was having such a hard time losing votes like that. Because he was popular enough to survive any challenger at his convention, Democrats certainly weren’t going to support efforts to replace him with more conservative alternatives.
Boehner was also fairly popular with the general public, and no Republican was in danger of losing his seat to the Democrats because Boehner waved the House Speaker’s gavel.
When Nancy Pelosi (D-California) became Speaker of the House, she made it more difficult for a small group of lawmakers to seek a motion to vacate the House for two reasons. First, unlike Boehner, she is unusual in the history of Congress, as evidenced by the fact that Republicans have opposed her in several campaign cycles. little known to Second, Pelosi had little patience for congressional traditions and minority rights, and was brutal in consolidating power.
I can understand why Kevin McCarthy (California Republican) is nervous about returning the right to resign to members, but in my opinion he shouldn’t worry too much. He’s not as unpopular or famous as Rich, and I don’t think there’s much political utility in running a congressional campaign specifically targeting him. , will not be invoked by most sane lawmakers unless things really go sideways in 2023.
Feehery is an EFB Advocacy partner and blogs at thefeeherytheory.com. He was the spokesman for former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Illinois), communications director for former House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Texas), and former House Minority Leader Bob Michelle. (Republican, Illinois) speechwriter.
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