Johnson — speaking at a kickoff press conference during the House GOP’s annual retreat in West Virginia — said he is not personally advocating for a change to the motion to vacate, but added it’s being openly discussed among lawmakers.
“The motion to vacate is something that comes up a lot amongst members and discussion. … I expect there will probably be a change to that as well. But just so you know, I’ve never advocated for that; I’m not one who’s making it into this issue, because I don’t think it is one for now,” Johnson said.
“I just think it’s something that a lot of members on both sides of the aisle talk about openly that they have a desire for [a] more normal process on the House floor again,” he continued. “So we’ll be looking at that on the House rules package in our respective caucus and conference packages as well as going to the new Congress. And that’s just something we should do in due course, be good stewards of the institution.”
Under current rules, a single member can bring a motion to vacate against the Speaker, which forces a vote on ousting the lawmaker from the top job.