U.S. House adopts rules sought by hardliners to control McCarthy
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[January 10, 2023]
By David Morgan and Moira Warburton
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives
on Monday adopted a package of internal rules that give right-wing
hardliners more leverage over the chamber's newly elected Republican
speaker, Kevin McCarthy.
Lawmakers voted 220-213 to approve the legislation. One Republican,
Representative Tony Gonzales, joined all 212 Democrats in voting against
the rules package. Another Republican did not vote.
The rules package, which will govern House operations over the next two
years, represented an early test of McCarthy's ability to keep his
caucus together, after he suffered the humiliation of 14 failed ballots
last week before finally being elected speaker on Saturday.
The legislation includes key concessions that hardliners sought and
McCarthy agreed to in his quest for the speaker's gavel. The changes
include allowing a single lawmaker to call for his removal at any time.
Other changes would place new restrictions on federal spending,
potentially limiting McCarthy's ability to negotiate government funding
packages with President Joe Biden, whose fellow Democrats control the
Senate.
Democrats denounced the legislation as a rules package for “MAGA
extremists” that would favor wealthy corporations over workers,
undermine congressional ethics standards and lead to further
restrictions on abortion services. "These rules are not a serious
attempt at governing. They're essentially a ransom note to America from
the extreme right," Representative Jim McGovern said.
Gonzales, the lone Republican to oppose the legislation, said he
objected to potential limits on U.S. defense spending at a time of
growing tensions with Russia and China.
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U.S. House Republican Leader Kevin
McCarthy (R-CA) wields the Speaker's gavel after being elected the
next Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives in a late night
15th round of voting on the fourth day of the 118th Congress at the
U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 7, 2023. REUTERS/Evelyn
Hockstein
His vote came despite an earlier warning from the grass-roots
conservative group FreedomWorks, which said on Twitter: "If Tony's a
'NO' on the House Rules Package he should not be welcomed into the
119th Congress."
Republicans have a narrow majority of 222-212 in the House, after
winning fewer seats than expected in November's midterm elections.
This has amplified the hardliners' power and raised questions about
how the divided Congress will function.
Lawmakers face critical tasks in the year ahead including addressing
the federal government's $31.4 trillion debt limit. Failure to do
that, or even a long standoff, would shake the global economy.
Other changes include a 72-hour waiting period between when a bill
is introduced and when it can get a vote, a cap on government
spending at 2022 levels, and the creation of a committee to
investigate the Justice Department.
(Reporting by David Morgan and Moira Warburton in Washington;
Editing by Scott Malone, Alistair Bell, Aurora Ellis and Leslie
Adler)
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