The House will vote shortly on a motion to table – or kill – a motion by GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz to vacate the speaker’s chair.
How many votes are needed?
The motion to table requires a simple majority to succeed. Democrats have said they will vote against a motion to table, and six Republicans have said they will vote against it as well.
If the motion to table fails…
Then the House will begin on hour of debate on the motion to vacate, with 30 minutes controlled by Gaetz and 30 minutes controlled by an ally of Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
About the vote on the motion to vacate (also expected this afternoon)
A vote on the resolution to remove the speaker would require a majority vote to succeed and oust the speaker from the leadership post. It is expected to be a roll call vote, meaning each member will have to stand up and say their vote. It will not be an electronic vote.
If it succeeds, then what?
Per the “House Practice: A Guide to the Rules, Precedents and Procedures of the House, Chapter 3: Office of the Speaker,” the speaker is required to submit a confidential list to the clerk of people “in the order in which each shall act as speaker pro tempore in the case of a vacancy.” Should McCarthy suddenly find himself out of his job, the clerk will then pull out that list that was given to him, and the number-one name on that list become the interim speaker. His or her first order of business: The election of a new speaker.
And once again, the House will once again have to vote as many times as it takes to get someone to 218 votes.
Nothing can happen in the House until the new speaker is elected.
