The McCarthy debacle proves it’s more than time for a rule change, no matter what happens next.
However House Republicans settle on their new leader, one thing is a must: The rule that lets a single member call for a floor vote on unseating the speaker has to go.
Now-ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy agreed to the rule back in January, in the negotiations for the votes to get the job. But his critics started using the threat against him by about Day 2, and finally pounced this week.
Indeed, the eight Republicans who united with the Democratic caucus to vote to unseat him had surely been egging each other on for weeks or months, talking it up as a “bold” and/or “necessary” move.