Rep. Tony Gonzales (Texas) was the only Republican to vote against the new Republican-majority House rules package on Monday after raising concerns over potential defense budget cuts over the weekend.
Gonzales revealed Sunday on CBS’s “Face The Nation” that he planned to oppose the rules package, calling possible defense cuts “a horrible idea,” pointing specifically to “aggressive Russia in Ukraine” and the “growing threat of China”. In the pacific.”
The package is the set of rules that will govern the chamber during the next legislative session. The rules have been the subject of much debate over the past week, as now-Chairman Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) offered key concessions on the package to secure support from Republicans who opposed his bid for the sledgehammer.
The concessions in the rule package included a required 72-hour window from the publication of a bill before it could be put to a vote and allowing any member to file a “motion to vacate” the Speaker.
It was the first legislation to be considered in the new Congress, and its passage now allows the House to debate other laws and move on with business as usual.
Other Republican lawmakers, including Rep. Nancy Mace (SC), floated the idea of voting against the rule package, but ultimately decided to support it.
Aside from Gonzales’s vote against, the package passed the House on a party-line vote.
