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December 15, 2022 12:37 PM UTC

Boebert: Next Speaker Must Bring Back Members’ Ability to Oust Speaker At Any Time

  • 11 Comments
  • by: Erik Maulbetsch

(The chaos is the point — Promoted by Colorado Pols)

It’s official. Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert has won re-election. While the result had been presumed for weeks, the confirmed tally means national politicos are now looking to the next House prize: the speaker’s gavel. Former Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is the consensus frontrunner, but the GOP’s slim majority in the chamber requires a near-unanimous vote from his fellow House Republicans. The narrow margin gives far-right members like Boebert substantial leverage to extract concessions from McCarthy in exchange for their support.

So what does Boebert want? According to the congresswoman, she wants the same thing several of her fellow Freedom Caucus members are demanding: the ability to ask colleagues to oust McCarthy at any time.

Last week she told far-right podcaster Tomi Lahren that while she hadn’t committed her support to McCarthy or any other aspiring speaker, her one “very hard-line” issue is the reinstatement of an obscure House rule that would empower any member to call for a vote to remove the speaker. During the short Dec. 9 interview, Boebert made it clear her support for McCarthy is contingent upon a promise to reinstate the “motion to vacate” rule.

“I haven’t committed my vote — one way or another — to anyone,” said Boebert. “I’ve met with Leader McCarthy multiple times — I’m meeting with him again today. And we’re certainly talking, but I want to see him support a motion to vacate.

“The American public may not be too familiar with that. But it’s an accountability measure that’s been in place since the 1800s, until Nancy Pelosi removed it. This gave each individual member of Congress the ability to have an actual check on leadership in the House of Representatives. Our government is all about checks and balances. This was written by Thomas Jefferson, and it’s been in place for almost two centuries. That accountability measure needs to stay in place.

“This is something I’ve expressed to Kevin: this is a very hard line to even begin any sort of conversation, because what good is it to negotiate in the absence of truth and trust? So that accountability measure certainly needs to be there. There’s no denying he’s the leader of the conference right now, and what he says matters. We’ll wait to see what actually happens on Jan. 3, but we all want a unified party.”

As Boebert noted, the vote for House Speaker will take place on Jan. 3. Currently McCarthy and Freedom Caucus member Andy Biggs (R-AZ), who helped plan the Jan. 6 insurrection, are seeking the gavel. Either man needs 218 votes to win. The GOP will have a five-seat majority, 222-213, but there are already five Republicans who say they won’t vote for McCarthy: the “Never Kevins.”

Trump “Absolutely” Has Boebert’s Support

Asked by Lahren if the Republican Party should “move on” from Donald Trump, Boebert reiterated her wholehearted support for the former president.

“He’s done a fantastic job and I want to see him in the White House again,” replied Boebert. “He’s the one in the race right now. He absolutely has my support. He’s a friend of mine. I’m not turning my back on him. I know there’s a lot of talk about Ron DeSantis. … He’s America’s Governor! They’re both incredible men, but I don’t think anyone should go shifting blame onto President Trump. He had amazing victories with his endorsed candidates.”

Political observers on both sides of the aisle have pointed out that the losses by Trump-endorsed Republicans in the midterm elections — including the loss of George’s GOP Senate candidate Herschel Walker — raise questions about the ability of his candidates and Trump himself to win in the 2024 election.

“I’m not changing who I am”

While getting the power to call for her own leader’s removal is Boebert’s top priority, it’s not all she wants.

According to a recent Politico report, Boebert is interested in joining the House Oversight Committee, which will likely launch investigations into any number of red-meat issues, from Hunter Biden’s laptop to the origin of COVID-19.

Boebert noted her enthusiasm for such investigations during the Lahren interview Boebert. “I’m looking forward to the majority, and it’s going to be a really fun two years actually accomplishing things for the American people: holding hearings and investigations that actually mean something. This is going to be a very exciting ride. And no one needs to worry too much; I’m not changing who I am.”

RELATED: Lauren Boebert: A 2022 Retrospective

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11 thoughts on “Boebert: Next Speaker Must Bring Back Members’ Ability to Oust Speaker At Any Time”

  2. I'll give it another minute of thought someday, but I'm having a hard time imagining how motions to replace the Speaker would be that impressive to the broader general public, except in the case of a serious scandal (assuming that matters anymore). Seems to me like it would contribute to uncertainty in leadership at bare minimum, and lack of continuity in House processes if they actually wind up changing the Speaker. 

    1. "Seems to me like it would contribute to uncertainty in leadership at bare minimum, and lack of continuity in House processes if they actually wind up changing the Speaker."

      It does do that, indeed. But … so what?

      With the GOP in control of the House for the next two years (and I use the term "control" loosely), I don't a problem with then returning the motion to vacate the chair to the rules.  

      In theory, the speaker could face a vote of confidence every day which will keep members on the floor and out of the investigative committee hearing rooms interrogating Hunter Biden about his sex life and his chemical proclivities, or impeaching Alejandro Mayorkis. 

      And perhaps after each election of new speaker, all of the committee would need to be reauthorized and membership subject to reappointment or removal.

      If these idiots did nothing more than had weekly votes on the speaker and reassignments to committees for the next two years, I'd be quite pleased with their legislative agenda.

       

      1. I actually agree with your last sentence, LBIAWPOS. My point was really just a question of how this move would be impressive or beneficial to anyone outside of the MAGA bubble. If a QBert idea falls flat like a souffle made out of tainted pork sliders, it's definitely no problemo by me.

         

  3. Boebert’s grasp of parliamentary procedure is, as I expected, incomplete.

    The motion to vacate the chair has a long history — Jefferson included it, and it was formalized in 1837.  Ballotpedia: Fact check: When was the “motion to vacate the chair” rule last used in Congress?

    It turns out that while the rule was last officially used in 1910, it has not lain dormant for the past century. In 1997, a group of congressmen seeking to oust then-Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) came close to using it. Unlike in 1910 and 2015, however, no resolution was ever officially filed.

    For years, ANY member of the House could offer a motion to vacate, and it would have “privileged” status to insure it would receive consideration.  2015, the idea was broached, but Boehner resigned before it could be officially offered.

    At the beginning of the session following the 2018 election, the rules changed:  modification was described this way:

    Under current House rules, a motion to vacate the chair can be assured of a vote only if the party’s leader approves; it cannot come from a rank-and-file member of the party.

    The rule change would be voted on by the entire House … so even if McCarthy gives in and includes the proposed change, unless his party is unified to vote for the change, it seems unlikely to pass. If it passed, and there WERE such a motion, it again would be voted on by the entire House, meaning a HFC revolt would be unlikely to prevail.

    1. So Dems could threaten to support the motion to vacate unless McCarthy throws them a bone, with the end result of a stronger Dem minority. I wonder if any of the geniuses in the HFC have thought that far ahead. 

    3. "In 1997, a group of congressmen seeking to oust then-Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) came close to using it."

      I remember that!

      That was the unsuccessful coup attempt against Gingrich. Susan Molinari and her husband, Bill Paxton, had to pay a price for their complicity. John Boner was also involved, but he managed to come out unscathed and eventually became speaker himself after the pedophile served as speaker from 1998 to 2006.

  4. Tomi L,  is dressing pretty risque to attract the male hetero and lesbian MAGA Q's to view. 

    Boobert looks ready to lead…..us into MAGA hell and stay there for 24 months.  For the CD-03 fellow citizens that voted for Boobert you are gonna get nothing for the district but disdain and embarrassment. As if you care.  

    (The chaos is the point — Promoted by Colorado Pols)

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