Phil Ammann
U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) is quitting the Congressional House leadership, POLITICO reports.
The Ponte Vedra Beach Republican’s exit comes as Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), the No. 3 GOP House member, warned that anyone on the whip team who voted against procedural motions would be cut off. Scalise’s hardball strategy was to solidify control of the Republican caucus.
Before he publicly made the announcement, DeSantis told Scalise of his plans to quit, according to POLITICO’s Anna Palmer and Lauren French.
“This happens every new Congress, people come and go,” one GOP source said. “It was very conciliatory.”
Procedural motions are essential to the majority party since they allow lawmakers to move debates and vote on the base legislation.
Lawmakers often remain on the whip team, even when they vote against an underlying bill.
In this case, leadership is forcing the rules, Palmer and French write, by organizing the procedural motions used to control the floor.
As of late, however, Republicans had some troubles passing the rule when it came to controversial legislation. For example, a procedural motion in 2014 to keep the government funded for next year just barely passed.
DeSantis is on the new House Freedom Caucus, a group formed by conservative lawmakers to pressure leadership to put forward right-leaning legislation.
