House speaker ouster threshold raised as GOP factions reach agreement.

House Republicans have reached an agreement on raising the motion to vacate threshold.

The current House GOP Conference rule allows for a motion to vacate the chair to be called by just one lawmaker, resulting in a chamber-wide vote on removing the speaker.

The deal, negotiated during a meeting hosted by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and attended by lawmakers from both the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus and the pragmatic Main Street Caucus, would increase the one-person threshold to nine.

House GOP rules that would have punished Republicans who vote against the will of the majority were withdrawn by Main Street Caucus members in exchange for their agreement to several proposed changes.

In January 2022, ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., reached a deal with conservatives to secure the gavel, which included a one-person threshold.

In October 2023, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.,'s vote led to his ouster by all House Democrats and eight Republicans, ultimately coming back to haunt him.

Since Johnson assumed office after McCarthy, there has been a constant threat hanging over his head.

In March, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., led a vote to remove Johnson from his position using the same rule. Despite the support of enough House Democrats, the Republicans were able to indefinitely postpone the vote by voting to "table" it.

On Wednesday evening, House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., and Main Street Caucus Chairman Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., announced the deal to reporters in brief comments.

Dr. Harris initiated this by contacting me this morning. He stated, 'We must negotiate. It's crucial that we unite.' Johnson emphasized the significance of unity.

"We spent over an hour together and made significant progress. We recognized that we had the chance to set the motion to vacate at a higher number...the motion to vacate will be set at nine, and in exchange for removing some amendments that may have caused division among this conference."

The chair of the Main Street Caucus stated that Harris effectively conveyed to mainstream leadership why the proposed amendments would have caused division within the Republican party.

Since late last year, moderate and rank-and-file Republicans have been advocating to increase the threshold, asserting that it would only exacerbate the turmoil within the House GOP.

House Republican leadership was not empowered by GOP hardliners, according to their insistence.

A fifth person who spoke with Planet Chronicle Digital stated that the deal was tentative, describing it as a "proposed" deal and emphasizing, "It isn't over until it is."

Proposed changes to House Republican conference rules will be voted on by the GOP on Thursday.

Two sources informed Planet Chronicle Digital that the news emerged following Johnson's unanimous vote by House Republicans to be their speaker once more.

Johnson's critics threatened to delay his victory by forcing a secret ballot vote rather than giving him unanimous consent due to their concerns about his handling of foreign aid and government spending.

After the meeting, they appeared to back off from their threat, which delayed leadership elections by approximately an hour and a half.

Planet Chronicle Digital reached out to Johnson's office for comment.