EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS:
The Associated Press is offering video of the following Republican U.S. representatives commenting on last week’s turmoil and their next big challenge: rules changes. Use it on your broadcasts, websites, social media platforms and elsewhere:
LOUISIANA: Rep. Steve Scalise
TEXAS: Rep. Dan Crenshaw
TENNESSEE: Rep. Mark Green
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House GOP defend last week’s chaos, move on to rules
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McCarthy’s next big task: Win GOP support for House rules
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House Republicans on Monday defended last week’s turmoil as they sought to elect a speaker and looked ahead to the next big challenge: rules changes.
After an epic 15-ballot election that resulted in Republican Kevin McCarthy becoming House speaker in the early morning hours on Saturday, the party faces another test in governing with its fractious, slim majority: passing a rules package to govern the House.
The drafting and approval of a set of rules is normally a fairly routine legislative affair, but in these times, it’s the next showdown for the embattled McCarthy.
To become speaker and win over skeptics, McCarthy had to make concessions to a small group of hard-liners who refused to support his ascension until he yielded to their demands.
The concessions included limits on McCarthy’s power, such as by allowing a single lawmaker to initiate a vote to remove him as speaker and curtailing government spending, which could include defense cuts.
They also give the conservative Freedom Caucus more seats on the committee that decides which legislation reaches the House floor. And no more voting by proxy from the comfy confines of home. The new rules force all members to cast their votes in person.
Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., who is expected to be the next House majority leader, said that ending proxy voting would increase collaboration and speed up the voting process.
“We’re making members of Congress show up to work again,” said Scalise. “For the last two years you’ve had proxy voting, including just a few weeks ago where you had dozens if not over 100 members of Congress voting from a remote location on a $1.7 trillion spending bill that was written in dark of night and dropped on members before they could read it. That is the kind of thing that people are sick of and we need to change.”
Some moderate Republicans expressed concern in recent days that it will be hard to get anything done in the House if a small band is given a stronger hand compared with the larger number of moderates.
But others insisted, even if it’s not easy, it’s how democracy is supposed to work.
“The Democrats all work in lockstep. Okay, if that’s how they want to be, fine,” said Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee. “We work for our constituents on our side of the aisle. And that means there are different opinions and those people express those and felt free to actually do that.”
Asked if the American public should brace itself for further chaos, Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw said “no.”
“We’re past it. We’re going to look good from here on out,” Crenshaw said.
