A bloc of House conservatives on Friday pressed Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to force a floor vote by next week to oust Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for blocking two Republicans from serving on the special committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Such a vote on what’s known as a “motion to vacate the chair” would be quickly rejected by Democrats, who control the majority, and some moderate Republicans.
But the one-page letter from the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus represents a test for McCarthy, who likely will need Freedom Caucus support in his quest to secure 218 votes and become speaker if Republicans win back the House in 2022.
The group of conservative rabble-rousers, closely aligned with former President Trump, derailed McCarthy’s bid to be speaker in 2015, when Ohio Republican John Boehner abruptly resigned from the job after a Freedom Caucus leader threatened to force a similar floor vote to oust him from power.
“We, the House Freedom Caucus, respectfully request that you … bring up a privileged motion by July 31, 2021 to vacate the chair and Nancy Pelosi’s authoritarian reign as Speaker of the House,” the Freedom Caucus wrote to McCarthy.
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