A conservative congressman, who has battled with the House GOP leadership, has filed legislation to oust fellow Republican John Boehner from the speaker’s chair.
On Tuesday, North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows introduced a two-page resolution “declaring the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives vacant.” It has been referred to the Rules Committee.
The resolution lists eight grievances against the speaker, including, according to the bill text, how Boehner “has endeavored to consolidate power and centralize decision-making, bypassing the majority of the 435 members of Congress and the people they represent.”
Boehner, the resolution continues, “has, through inaction, caused the power of Congress to atrophy, thereby making Congress subservient to the executive and judicial branches, diminishing the voice of the American people.”
Boehner “uses the power of the office to punish members who vote according to their conscience instead of the will of the Speaker” and “has intentionally provided for voice votes on consequential and controversial legislation to be taken without notice and with few members present.”
The Meadows resolution also accuses Boehner of using “the legislative calendar to create crises for the American people, in order to compel members to vote for legislation.”
After the last two elections, conservatives have attempted, though have failed, to organize a coup against Boehner. Earlier this year, Meadows was one of 25 Republicans who voted for someone other than Boehner, who was re-elected anyway.
The feud between Boehner and Meadows is personal: Earlier this summer, Meadows lost his subcommittee chairmanship on the House Oversight and Government Reform after voting against a procedural rule favored by the leadership. (Meadows regained the spot after protests from other conservative lawmakers.)
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Meadows suggested the resolution was less about actually organizing a serious effort to oust Boehner than to provoke a discussion about concerns with his speakership.
“It’s really more about trying to have a conversation on making this place work, where everybody’s voice matters, where there’s not a punitive culture,” Meadows said, according to the Washington Post. “Hopefully, we’ll have some discussion about that in the days and weeks to come.”
The Daily Caller has reached out to Boehner’s office for comment.
