One of the biggest objections among members of the House Freedom Caucus to Paul Ryan's conditions to serve as speaker is Ryan's reported desire to get rid of the "motion to vacate the chair." Under current House rules, any single member of the House may force a vote to oust the speaker (the measure needs a simple majority to pass). Although Politico reports that Ryan wants to "do away with" the motion to vacate the chair, Ryan's spokesman Brendan Buck told reporters last night that Ryan wants "a change to the process for a motion to vacate the chair," but he didn't call for scrapping it altogether.
Buck writes in an email today that Ryan has "not set on any one approach, just need to de-weaponize it so it's not always hanging over the head of whoever is speaker."
Ryan's spokesman declined to comment on any specific potential changes to the process for a motion to vacate the chair, but one obvious change would be to increase the number of sponsors required to force a vote on the floor. Whether or not the hardline House Freedom Caucus agree to any change to this process that's acceptable to Ryan remains to be seen."I think we need to invite him in and have him expand on what he meant,” Congressman Raul Labrador, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, told Politico.
*Update: Several House Freedom Caucus members who spoke to THE WEEKLY STANDARD on Wednesday said they're open to changing the process for a motion to vacate the chair.