Lauren Boebert says she would ‘ditch’ motion to vacate rules if Jim Jordan becomes speaker

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) signaled she would be willing to repeal House rules on motions to vacate but only if House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) is selected as the next House speaker to replace Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).

When McCarthy ran for speaker in January, the California Republican made several concessions to rank-and-file lawmakers in exchange for their support in the leadership elections. Part of that deal was a rule change to allow a single member to raise a motion to vacate, which would then force a vote on the measure — prompting a handful of Republicans to call for a higher threshold to prevent a replay of McCarthy’s ouster.

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“I’m willing to ditch the Motion To Vacate with Jim Jordan as Speaker,” Boebert wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “The House has a lot of work ahead, let’s get this over with and take our country back!”

Some members indicated that rule could be up for negotiation as they consider a new speaker, noting it would likely be something candidates would run on as part of their platform. That sentiment has especially been floated by some of McCarthy’s closest allies, who argue the rule makes it too difficult to govern.

“We can’t put a new speaker in place with this structure that is completely dysfunctional. You can’t do that. That’s wrong. It would be unjust to another speaker,” Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) said. “Let’s keep in mind, there is a conference rule that says that you cannot bring a motion to vacate without the support of the conference.”

Jordan announced on Wednesday he would run to replace McCarthy as speaker, making him and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) the only two candidates to declare their candidacy. Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) is also expected to join the fray.

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The House is at a standstill until it elects a new leader, as lawmakers cannot complete any legislation business until a speaker is elected. House Republicans plan to hold a candidate forum on Tuesday to consider nominees, with the first speakership election vote expected the following Wednesday.

“We’re going to have a real contest to see who the best person is,” said Rep. Bob Good (R-VA), one of eight Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy. “We will absolutely choose a speaker with 218 [votes]. Now, does it take a couple of days? I don’t know. A couple hours? I don’t know. But we’re gonna have a speaker that’s chosen by the body.”