Last Updated on December 20, 2022
The moderate House Republican faction known as the Republican Governance Group, previously known as “the Tuesday Group,” is threatening to preserve Pelosi era House rules if anti-McCarthy members motion to vacate the chair. Despite holding leverage over who will lead the Republican-led House, a significant portion of Tuesday Group members have sided with the far-left at numerous key moments. Seven current members voted to impeach former President Trump after the January 6 Capitol protests, while 20 of 44 current members voted to establish a January 6 Congressional committee that has since been used to target conservatives.
“The Republican Governance Group met w/ McCarthy this morning & told him they’d support him on multiple ballots for speaker,” wrote CNN Capitol Hill reporter Melanie Zanona in a tweet last week. “But they also had a warning: if he cuts a deal with hardliners on the motion to vacate the speaker’s chair, they will not support the rules package.”
Republicans opposed to McCarthy have routinely cited his refusal to do away with Pelosi’s House rules as a primary motivation for their opposition. For the House Freedom Caucus, banning earmarks has become a top focus, though the Republican caucus voted against banning the practice during a conference meeting earlier this month.
“After the House elects a speaker, the chamber then adopts a rules package, which is where we could see some of the concessions, if any, McCarthy makes to win more speaker’s vote,” Zanona wrote in a follow-up tweet. “So this warning could further complicate things for McCarthy.”
Despite their significant leverage over the party’s direction, a large majority of current members have become unpopular with the base and either been voted out or faced significant primary challenges as a result of their voting history.
Of the 44 current members, U.S. Reps. Tom Rice (R-SC), John Katko (R-NY), Fred Upton, (R-MI), Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), Peter Meijer (R-MI) and Jamie Herrera Beutler (R-WA) will not be returning to Capitol Hill in January. These members all voted to impeach Trump after January 6, siding with leftist hardliners.
Rice, Meijer and Herrera Beutler were defeated at the ballot box, while the others opted to retire rather than face certain defeat in a GOP primary.
While pro-impeachment Republicans were almost completely rejected by GOP voters, a number of the 35 House Republicans who voted for the January 6 committee faced significant primary pressure.
Among Tuesday Group members, 20 voted to establish the committee, including U.S. Rep. David Joyce (R-OH,) who will be taking over as the group’s leader after Rep. Katko (R-NY) retires in January.
Additional “yes” voters include:
Adam Kinzinger (R-IL)
Fred Upton (R-MI)
Don Bacon (R-NE)
Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA)
Tom Rice (R-SC)
John Curtis (R-UT)
Andrew Garbarino (R-NY)
Peter Meijer (R-MI)
Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA)
Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA)
Chris Jacobs (R-NY)
Carlos Giménez (R-FL)
Rodney Davis (R-IL)
Steve Womack (R-AR)
David Valadao (R-CA)
John Katko (R-NY)
Chris Smith (R-NJ)
Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL)
Cliff Bentz (R-OR)
U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs has stated that the growing list of members seeking to change the “status quo” in challenging McCarthy will proceed despite Tuesday Group ultimatums.
