House passes Rules package that was at heart of McCarthy's speaker battle - CBS News

Washington — The House connected Monday narrowly passed a bundle of rules governing its operations for the 118th Congress and laying retired the Republican majority's priorities, caller disconnected a grueling speaker's predetermination that spanned much than 4 days and ended connected a historical 15th ballot.

The bundle passed 220-213, with 1 Republican joining each Democrats against it. GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas had publically said up of the ballot that helium would not beryllium voting for it. Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas did not vote. 

The 55-page proposal is the culmination of weeks of negotiations betwixt recently elected Speaker Kevin McCarthy and a bloc of blimpish lawmakers who withheld their enactment for his bid for the gavel until they were capable to extract a bid of concessions from the Republican leader. Those concessions person sparked interest from Democrats and adjacent immoderate Republicans, and volition importantly weaken McCarthy's leverage arsenic speaker. The caller rules volition besides fortify the presumption of members of the House Freedom Caucus. 

Fresh disconnected a bruising speaker's predetermination that spanned much than 4 days and ended connected a historical 15th ballot, the House convened Monday evening to see the bundle of rules governing its operations for the 118th Congress and laying retired the caller Republican majority's priorities. 

U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) celebrates portion holding the Speaker's gavel aft being elected arsenic Speaker successful the House astatine the U.S. Capitol connected January 07, 2023 successful Washington, DC.  / Getty Images

Gonzales announced his absorption to the rules bundle up of the vote. A second, Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, revealed Sunday that she was "on the fence" astir the proposal. 

In an interview with "Face the Nation," Mace said she supported the rules package, but took contented with the closed-door negotiations surrounding it that led the radical of McCarthy's detractors to yet enactment his predetermination oregon ballot "present." The South Carolina Republican besides indicated that GOP lawmakers who were not progressive successful the talks betwixt McCarthy's enactment squad and the blimpish holdouts person been near successful the acheronian astir what different promises helium made.

"We don't person immoderate thought what promises were made oregon what gentleman's handshakes were made. We conscionable person nary thought astatine this point," she said. "And it does springiness maine rather a spot of heartburn."

Democrats echoed that interest connected the House level Monday.

"What I'm acrophobic astir is not conscionable what's written down here. I'm acrophobic by the backroom deals that Speaker McCarthy made with the Freedom Caucus successful speech for their votes," Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts said, mentioning Mace's comments. "...These rules are not a superior effort astatine governing. They're fundamentally a ransom enactment to America from the utmost right." 

The rules bundle astatine the bosom of McCarthy's quest to go talker does see immoderate of the concessions helium made. Here is what is included successful it, and immoderate of the promises McCarthy made successful handshake-agreements that aren't successful the package: 

Motion to vacate 

Perhaps the astir important concession McCarthy made successful the rules bundle involves the motion to vacate the chair, a procedural instrumentality utilized to region the speaker. 

The House rules nether erstwhile Speaker Nancy Pelosi required a bulk ballot by a enactment caucus oregon league successful bid for a question to vacate to beryllium brought up for a vote, and McCarthy initially lowered the threshold to unit a ballot down to 5 members.

But successful his effort to appease his blimpish detractors, McCarthy yet agreed to reconstruct the quality of a azygous subordinate from either enactment to unit a ballot to oust the speaker. 

Select subcommittee to analyse the "weaponization of the national government"

The rules bundle calls for the House to instrumentality up a solution establishing a "select subcommittee connected the Weaponization of the Federal government."

The sheet would beryllium portion of the House Judiciary Committee, which is expected to beryllium led by GOP Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.

Rep. Chip Roy, a Texas Republican who was a main negotiator for the conservatives, told Fox News connected Friday that McCarthy agreed to springiness the subcommittee "the benignant of fund and the benignant of staffing — we said arsenic slightest arsenic overmuch — arsenic the Jan. 6 committee."

"We got much resources, much specificity, much powerfulness to spell aft this recalcitrant Biden administration," Roy said. 

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise confirmed connected Twitter that the House volition instrumentality up the measurement to found the prime subcommittee this week. 

Reinstating the "Holman Rule"

The Republicans' rules bundle calls for the "Holman Rule" to beryllium enactment backmost successful place. First adopted successful 1876, the measurement allows amendments to appropriations bills to slash the salaries of oregon occurrence circumstantial national employees, oregon chopped circumstantial programs.

72-hour rule

This proviso requires measure substance to beryllium released astatine slightest 72 hours earlier a ballot connected the House floor, giving lawmakers clip to work the legislation.

Enforcement of the regularisation would travel aft galore Republicans decried the circumstances surrounding the $1.7 trillion authorities spending package, which was voted connected by Congress soon aft the substance of the mammoth authorities was released. 

Votes connected energy, termination and IRS backing bills

The projected bundle of rules requires the House to clasp votes connected a fig of bills to beforehand the GOP's docket for the caller Congress. Among the measures are those that:

• Rescind $72 cardinal successful backing for the Internal Revenue Service that was approved by Congress past twelvemonth successful the Inflation Reduction Act, Democrats' wellness care, taxation and clime package.

• Prohibit income from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to China

• Bar taxpayer-funded abortions

"Cut-as-you-go" rule

Republicans privation to scrap the existent pay-as-you-go request and alternatively institute a "cut-as-you-go" rule, which prohibits information of authorities that has the nett effect of expanding mandatory spending wrong a five-year oregon 10-year fund window.

Vote connected the indebtedness limit

The projected rules bundle gets escaped of the alleged "Gephardt rule," which allowed the House to debar a abstracted ballot connected raising the indebtedness limit.

Cap spending levels

While not included successful the 55-page bundle to beryllium voted connected by the House connected Monday, McCarthy agreed during talks with blimpish holdouts to headdress spending astatine fiscal twelvemonth 2022 levels, which could pb to cuts successful defence spending.

The imaginable interaction connected subject spending is 1 of the reasons wherefore Gonzales volition reason the rules proposal, helium said.

"I'm going to sojourn Taiwan present successful a mates of weeks," helium told "Face the Nation." "How americium I going to look astatine our allies successful the oculus and say, 'I request you to summation your defence budget, but yet America is going to alteration ours?'"

Roy's bureau said the congressman and his colleagues "secured a committedness from Speaker McCarthy to enact the biggest discretionary spending chopped EVER successful FY 2024," but said the thought it means cutting defence spending is simply a "lie."

"In fact, determination was wide statement spending cuts should absorption connected NON-DEFENSE discretionary spending. This means cutting backing for the woke & weaponized bureaucrats that received monolithic increases nether the $1.7 trillion omnibus. (This IS NOT Social Security/Medicare)," his bureau said successful a series of tweets.

But Jordan told "Fox News Sunday" that successful airy of the $32 trillion nationalist debt, "everything has to beryllium connected the table," including cuts to subject spending. The Ohio Republican besides suggested that the GOP-led House "better look astatine the wealth we nonstop to Ukraine arsenic good and say, 'how tin we champion walk the wealth to support America?'"

The White House condemned immoderate imaginable cuts to defence spending and warned of the interaction the determination would person connected the country.

"This propulsion to defund our subject successful the sanction of authorities is senseless and retired of enactment with our nationalist information needs," White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said successful a statement. "There is bipartisan absorption to defence cuts due to the fact that making america little susceptible of keeping the American radical harmless and advancing our nationalist information interests would beryllium a profound mistake that our federation cannot afford."

Committee assignments

McCarthy pledged to springiness much of the Republican seats connected the almighty House Rules Committee to members of the House Freedom Caucus, though it's unclear however galore of the 9 GOP seats would spell to the conservatives.

Ellis Kim contributed to this report.