How the 'Holman rule' allows the House to fast-track proposals to gut government programs without debate or much thought at all

Reinstituted rules in the U.S. House of Representatives allow members to fire federal staffers and cut programs. Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

The slim Republican majority in the House of Representatives has just voted to give itself a streamlined way to fire civil servants and shut down federal programs it doesn’t like – outside the standard process of review and debate.

This method, known as the Holman rule, has been used in the past by both parties to cloak political decisions in the language and process of saving taxpayers money. It was included in a package of rules approved as the House began its business in January.