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Excerpts and Select Past Editions
Rep. Greene’s “Sword of Damocles” motion to vacate lost its edge when it hit the table
May 12, 2024
Back on March 22nd, Rep. Greene (R-GA) filed a resolution to remove the current Speaker. The House defeated the attempt to overthrow Speaker Johnson (R-LA) when 196 Republicans were joined by 163 Democrats in tabling the so-called “motion to vacate.”
The tabling of that resolution ends its ability to remove Speaker Johnson—but he may still face removal in the future. This is for two reasons. A resolution to declare the speakership vacant falls into a special category of legislation known as questions of privilege. House precedents allow for a question of the privileges of the House that has been tabled to “be rephrased and presented anew or reoffered on a subsequent day.” 5 Hinds §5438; see House Rules and Manual, §713; see also Sullivan, Wickham and Smith, House Practice: A Guide to the Rules, Precedents, and Procedures of the House, 118th Congress, Ch. 42, §15, at 769. Second, the Rules of the House continue to allow for any Representative to do their own resolution declaring the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives to be vacant.