In September, Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) introduced a reform plan that would do five things: Ban U.S. Representatives from trading stocks, provide a 12-year term limit for representatives, ban political donations from lobbyists or Political Action Committees (PACs), provide term limits for Supreme Court Justices, and create an ethics code for Supreme Court Justices. Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) stated that he would be willing to negotiate on the motion to vacate threshold if these conditions are met.
In his introduction of the reform plan, Rep. Khanna stated “The American people are frustrated and exhausted with the corruption and role of big money in the halls of Congress.”
After laying out his plan, Rep. Khanna concluded, “This is common sense. The people demand it. It’s time we give them back their government and we reform in Washington. We should have bipartisan support for this five-point plan.”
Rep. Gaetz responded to this video on Thursday, stating, “Let’s negotiate.”
Ok. Let’s negotiate.
My GOP colleagues want to raise the threshold on the motion to vacate.
This is a question for all of them.
If we enact the reforms @RepRoKhanna lays out here….
How high would you like the MTV threshold to be?
Because I’ll basically give you whatever… https://t.co/uaFhoNi0Is
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) October 5, 2023
“Ok. Let’s negotiate. My GOP colleagues want to raise the threshold on the motion to vacate. This is a question for all of them. If we enact these reforms Rep. Ro Khanna lays out here…. How high would you like the MTV threshold to be? Because I’ll basically give you whatever you want on the MTV for this stuff,” said Gaetz.
It is unlikely that Congress would go for this deal.
However, according to an AP-NORC poll, 67% of Americans want term limits for Supreme Court Justices.
A Scott Rasmussen national survey found that 83% of Americans want term limits for members of Congress.
While lawmakers on the Hill will most likely turn down Gaetz’s offer, it could bring a stalemate on the MTV threshold.
Just recently, Rep. Carlos Gimenez stated that he would not support anyone for Speaker unless the rules have been changed.
“The person who wants my vote for Speaker must commit to reforming the Motion to Vacate,” said Rep. Gimenez in a press release. “The threshold must be raised to 50% of the Republican Conference. The coup against Speaker Kevin McCarthy was despicable and must never happen again. A Speaker cannot govern under constant threat by fringe hostage takers.”
Additionally, Gimenez described Gaetz as “Joe Biden’s favorite Republican.”
"I have serious disagreements with Mr. Gaetz. I think that he is actually Joe Biden's favorite Republican because he causes a lot of confusion and dissension inside the Party itself. If it were not for Matt Gaetz, we would have had a funding resolution that actually controlled the border and would have had close to 10% cuts in government, but because of Matt Gaetz, we did not get either of those," said Rep. Gimenez.
With all of the information, could there be compromise within the Republican Party and and the House of Representatives as a whole?
