Washington — House Republicans said Wednesday they had reached an agreement to raise the threshold needed to oust their president Wednesday, as the party seeks to project a united front after taking control of the White House And both houses of Congress.
Leaders of the House Freedom Caucus and the Main Street Caucus, two influential factions, said they had reached an agreement to change the rule that allowed a single member to trigger a vote of no confidence to impeach the president.
The House Freedom Caucus agreed to raise the threshold to nine members. In exchange for the increase, the Main Street Caucus would abandon proposed rule changes aimed at punishing those who defy the party majority.
“We were able to work within the conference to eliminate controversial issues that might have divided us,” said Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, who chairs the House Freedom Caucus.
Rep. Dusty Johnson of South Dakota, who leads the Main Street Caucus, said Harris contacted him Wednesday morning to negotiate a deal, telling him “unity is important.”
Johnson admitted that some of the proposed rule changes “probably would have divided this conference.”
“With this agreement, we are in a better position to advance the Republican agenda,” Johnson said.
Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, a member of the Main Street Caucus, said the proposals were made because they wanted members who rebelled to be held accountable.
“We have been very disappointed by the actions of some in this current Congress,” he said.
Infighting has made it difficult for Republicans, who have a razor-thin majority, to govern over the past two years.
In January 2023, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California finally won the speaker’s gavel after 15 votes amid a prolonged – and public – struggle with conservatives who have demanded concessions, including allowing a single member to trigger a vote of no confidence to oust the president.
Nine months later, the agreement resulted in The fall of McCarthy after relying on votes from House Democrats to temporarily avoid a government shutdown. It was the first time in U.S. history that a Speaker of the House was ousted by such a motion.
Although House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana faced similar problems as McCarthy and had to rely on Democratic votes to pass legislation, Republicans said Wednesday supported him for another term lead the party.
House Republicans are expected to once again have a slim majority in the next Congress, which will be temporarily made more difficult by President-elect Donald Trump’s offers to several members of his administration.
Johnson said he changed his plans to spend the weekend with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida so he could “be there while other decisions are being made.”
“He’s very aware of the margin, the size of the margin, but he’s got an administration to fill, a Cabinet to fill,” Johnson said at a news conference with House Republican leaders. “Everyone in this room is acutely aware of that as well, and that’s why we’re emphasizing unity right now.”
contributed to this report.
