Members-Only Article
A big question we turn to now is who will be the next Speaker of the House. This should not be a question. The leader of the Republican opposition for the last four years should obviously become speaker. But, as we know, it’s not that simple.
Tonight we heard for the first time that McCarthy has agreed to allow motions to vacate as part of his quest to get the votes to become speaker. This is a technical parliamentary tool but an extremely important one. It allows any member at any time to force a vote on firing McCarthy as speaker. There are various potential versions of this and it has to do with what is called a “privileged motion.” The latest reports suggest McCarthy has finally agreed to this, something he has insisted he would never agree to.