Members of the House Freedom Caucus reportedly are planning to force an internal vote Wednesday regarding the speakership in the next Congress to send a message to current Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.
An internal vote would prevent Johnson from being nominated by a simple voice vote that would have allowed leadership to say he was nominated unanimously, Politico reported.
The Freedom Caucus, which is unhappy with a series of rules proposals, opted for an internal vote rather than throwing in an alternate candidate, two sources told the outlet.
Several proposed amendments to House GOP's rules would punish members who broke with the conference on certain procedural and leadership votes.
On Monday, the Washington Examiner reported Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris, R-Md., said he believes there should be more than one person in the race for House speaker.
"Last I looked, this is America and having two people in a race is kind of the norm. We could do this Soviet-style or we can do it American-style," Harris said, the Examiner reported.
Leadership positions are under the microscope after Republicans won a majority in both chambers of Congress for January, when President-elect Donald Trump moves into the White House.
Senate GOP members are scheduled to hold a secret-ballot vote Wednesday to decide who will be majority leader. Sens. John Thune, S.D., John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Rick Scott, R-Fla., are vying for the position.
In the House, Johnson is running unopposed for the speakership. Some conservatives, such as Harris, are not thrilled with aspects of the Louisianian's leadership.
Freedom Caucus members deliberated for days over how to send a message to Johnson, and they expected to likely put forth a candidate for the speakership.
However, Politico sources on Tuesday night said the group's plan now focused on forcing an internal secret-ballot vote. That would allow members to oppose Johnson's nomination without revealing who they are.
Presenting a formal challenge to Johnson only would happen if a ballot vote gets blocked, which is unlikely, two people said.
"It's counterproductive" to formally name a challenger, person told Politico.
Three Freedom Caucus members were willing to jump in as formal challengers, the outlet added.
Johnson told Politico he didn't support rule changes that would punish members, though the conference still could pass the proposals.
The Freedom Caucus may drop their plan to force the secret-ballot vote if Johnson tells Republicans to vote down the proposed rules changes.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.