In a surprise move, Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) on Tuesday introduced a resolution to remove Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) from his position as Speaker of the House.
Meadows used a rare procedural move by offering a motion to “vacate the chair,” a maneuver that has only been used once before — in 1910, according to New York Magazine.
The Republican indicated that his push to remove Boehner from leadership was motivated by the Speaker’s decision to remove Meadow’s chairmanship on the House Government Operations Subcommittee after the congressman voted against a Trans-Pacific Partnership trade bill in committee. Meadows was later restored as chair, but it seems he still holds a bit of a grudge.
According to the resolution, Boehner has “endeavored to consolidate power and centralize decision-making, bypassing the majority of the 435 Members of Congress and the people they represent” and used “the power of the office to punish Members who vote according to their conscience.”
This is not the first attempt made by a House conservative to oust Boehner, but some of Meadows’ fellow conservatives in the House told him it was a bad move, according to Politico.
Meadows could have offered the motion as a privileged resolution, sending it straight to the House floor for a vote. Instead, the resolution will head to the Rules Committee, where its chair, Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), will decide whether or not to consider the motion.
After introducing his resolution on Tuesday evening, Meadows said he wants the motion to start a “family discussion” about Republican leadership in the House.
“It’s really more about trying to have a conversation about making this place work, where everybody’s voice matters, where it’s not a punitive culture,” he said, according to Roll Call.
