Republican leaders aren’t only scrambling to find the votes to push their megabill through the House, they’re also dealing with an unexpected procedural issue that could complicate floor consideration of the “big, beautiful bill.”
The problem is deep in the weeds, a drafting issue on a procedural document — the “rule” governing the megabill’s floor consideration. But there are real consequences for Speaker Mike Johnson if it doesn’t get fixed.
“It has a mistake in it,” said Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern, the top Rules Committee Democrat, on the floor Wednesday. He said Republicans “don’t have an escape hatch if they start it and realize they don’t have the votes” as the key consequence.
As currently written, the rule does not “order the previous question” nor does it prohibit “intervening motions.” Long story short, that means once the House begins debate on the procedural measure, Johnson doesn’t have a ripcord he can pull to delay or reschedule voting. Moreover, Democrats would be free to deploy a variety of delay tactics, including motions to adjourn or table the measure.
McGovern added that Republicans will probably offer an amendment to fix the issue, but argued that if Republicans “can’t get a one-paragraph rule right,” they shouldn’t be trusted to pass an 870-page bill touching taxes, health care, defense and more.
Fixing the rule would require another floor vote — and another test of Republican unity — before they can take action on the party’s signature legislation.