House Republicans from across the conference are negotiating changes to their official rules that could be voted on before they elect their new speaker Thursday.
Leaders of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, who have been the loudest in calling for altering process and rules to empower rank-and-file members, are optimistic change could come before Rep. Paul Ryan, the expected new speaker, begins work.
“This has been a big push from our group,” Rep. Jim Jordan, the Freedom Caucus chairman, told The Daily Signal in an interview. “We’ve said it for a long time: the process and rule changes need to be done in such a way where they push influence across the conference and across the Congress. We think that environment is more conducive to doing what we told the voters we were gonna do.”
“And we are already making real progress there.” Jordan added. “We have had more meetings on the rules the last couple weeks than we’ve had in the eight years I’ve been here.”
Specifically, Jordan, R-Ohio, believes the conference could come to an agreement before Thursday to broaden member representation of the Steering Committee, a board that makes committee assignments.
Freedom Caucus members and others argue that party leaders and their allies have too much power in how the Steering Committee operates. There are currently 33 Republicans on the Steering Committee. Each member has one vote, except for the speaker, who has five, and the majority leader, who has two.
“We think it makes sense for there to be an immediate reduction in the number of votes certain members have,” Jordan said. “I think Ryan is very open to changes in the Steering Committee.”
According to CQ Roll Call, the Steering Committee is composed of members of elected leadership, representatives from 11 regions, plus the “small states” and Texas.
“We are hopeful to get a much broader base for the Steering Committee,” said Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., a Freedom Caucus member, in an interview with The Daily Signal.
“We want to allow it to be more representative of a larger population of states and not just a region, and for it to not be controlled by the speaker. Yes, the board is independent, but if you are intellectually honest about it, it’s not independent, because the speaker with a wink or nod can encourage people to go in one direction or the other. There is broad support for changing this process.”
In an hour-long meeting before the Freedom Caucus last week, and in comments to other groups, Ryan, R-Wis., has impressed members with his commitment to changing House process.
Though he has spoken broadly about potential change, and not made specific promises, House leaders for weeks have been meeting with members to discuss ways to move forward.
Reps. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C. and Morgan Griffith, R-Va., have negotiated on behalf of the Freedom Caucus with a diverse spectrum of lawmakers, including members of the moderate Tuesday Group.
On Tuesday night, Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the chair of the House Republican Conference, and Luke Messer, chair of the Republican Policy Committee, sent a “dear colleague” letter to members outlining rules changes suggested over several weeks.
In addition to “redefining” the Steering Committee structure, House Republicans are interested in “promoting regular order” and “empowering individual members through procedures designed to enhance every Republican members’ ability to have their voice heard in the conference.”
McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and Messer, R-Ind., write that specific changes should be voted on quick enough to be implemented the first week of the new year.
Though Freedom Caucus members would welcome changes to be voted on before Ryan is poised to be elected speaker Thursday, they won’t rebuke him if change takes more time.
“It’s not a deal killer only because Ryan has committed a number of times to process changes,” Meadows said.
“If it’s not done [by Thursday], as long it’s specified and directed in a time frame of getting it accomplished, that’s fine. But I know he is working and we are working on seeing the changes through.”
