Obscure House Rules Could Bypass Speaker to Force Ukraine Aid Vote, Echoing Reagan Tax Cut Coalition
-
Obscure parliamentary procedures like "discharge petitions" and "defeating the previous question" could be used to bring a vote on Ukraine aid to the House floor without Speaker Johnson's approval.
-
These rarely-successful maneuvers were last effectively used in the 1980s by "Boll Weevil" Democrats and "Gypsy Moth" Republicans to pass Reagan's tax cuts.
-
A discharge petition requires 218 signatures to bypass leadership, while defeating the previous question allows the minority to temporarily control the floor.
-
Moderate Republicans who support Ukraine aid could team up with Democrats to replicate the Boll Weevil/Gypsy Moth coalition.
-
It's unclear if Ukraine aid will pass the House, but the chances of using these arcane procedures to force a vote may be the highest since the 1981 tax cut vote.