New House rules unveiled Wednesday would make it more difficult for lawmakers to oust the speaker in the 119th Congress.
The new rule would require nine lawmakers from the majority party to introduce a motion to vacate the speakership.
The report comes one year after a single GOP lawmaker initiated the removal of the speaker for the first time in history.
The House will vote at noon Friday to select a speaker. Johnson is expected to win nearly all Republican votes. He received a major boost earlier this week when President-elect Donald Trump gave the Louisiana Republican his "complete and total endorsement."
Johnson, 52, ascended to the speakership in October 2023 almost by accident after Republicans struggled to replace Kevin McCarthy after the unprecedented removal of the California Republican. Several contenders tried and failed before Republicans settled on Johnson, who is well-liked across the conference.
But Johnson’s handling of major funding fights, including passage of aid to Ukraine last spring and, most recently, a short-term spending bill, has turned at least a few allies into detractors.
Democrats are furious over the new rules proposal as it would only allow Republicans to force a vote on removing the House speaker.
"This makes it clear that they have no intention of working together to find common ground," said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee. "Instead of electing a speaker of the House, they have decided to elect a speaker of the Republican Conference — held hostage by their most extreme members."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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