Following the continuing resolution the House voted to pass on Saturday afternoon, which the Senate passed that evening, and President Biden signed into law that night, we began this week expecting to consider appropriations legislation, including the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024 and the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2024.  On Monday evening, the House reconvened and voted on a bipartisan basis to pass legislation including a bill to designate a United States Postal Service building in St. Charles, Illinois as the “Veterans of the Vietnam War Memorial Post Office” (H.R. 2379) and the Modernizing the Acquisition of Cybersecurity Experts Act of 2023 (H.R. 4502) to prohibit federal agencies from establishing minimum educational requirements for cybersecurity positions unless the requirements are mandated by law in the state or locality where the work is performed.  

At the conclusion of that vote series, Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL-01) gave notice on the floor of that he was filing a motion to “vacate the chair.”  This motion to remove the Speaker of the House is a privileged resolution that must be brought to the floor for a vote within two legislative days.  Speaker McCarthy brought the motion for a vote on Tuesday afternoon.  As I am sure you know by now, the motion was successful, and Speaker McCarthy was removed from his position.  A Speaker Pro Tempore then assumed limited responsibilities of the office and immediately recessed the House of Representatives until further notice.

No doubt, you are seeing lots of news coverage and opinion pieces about this historic vote.  I will share my perspective here on the questions I got from constituents this week – how did this happen and what happens next?

How did this happen?

Historically, the Speaker of the House is chosen by the party in the majority in Congress.  This Congress, Republicans are in the majority.  (During my first two terms, the Democrats were in the majority.)  The first day of each Congress, the entire Congress meets and, after reporting attendance, its first act is to elect the Speaker of the House.  You may recall that this year’s Speaker election was one of the longest in history.  We voted 15 times over four days before Congressman McCarthy was elected Speaker of the House.

Once a speaker is elected, the next thing the House does is vote on the rules that will govern proceedings in the House.  This year, every House Republican voted for—and every House Democrat including me voted against—a set of rules that permitted a single member of the majority party to move for a vote to remove the Speaker that we saw this week.  This is not how it has always worked.  Since I have been in Congress, the motion to vacate could only be brought by the Majority Leader or the Minority Leader with the support of the of their parties. 

This change in the House Rules, in my opinion, has had a had a terrible effect on the work of the House this Congress.  It has made it possible for members to make all kinds of unreasonable demands–including explicit demands that Speaker McCarthy not work with House Democrats to pass any legislation and instead advance a divisive, extreme, deeply partisan agenda.

Before the vote took place, I met with my colleagues in the House Democratic Caucus about the pending vote.  Following our meeting, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries sent out a letter setting forth the consensus among our caucus, which you can read here. 

Because Speaker McCarthy refused to work in good faith across the aisle, I voted in favor of the motion, which passed because eight Republicans voted in favor of it.

What happens next?

The House Republican Conference will nominate a new speaker when the House reconvenes next week.  There are several candidates that have already declared their interest.  It may be one of them, or another candidate, who is elected the new Speaker of the House. 

It is my hope that House Republicans will reject the extreme partisanship that got us here and work in a bipartisan way for the good of the Congress and the good of the country.

Also, House Republicans have the ability to try and change the House Rules to return to a governing by consensus.  Some of my Republican colleagues have called for such a change in recent days, as have House Democrats.  (Let me know what you think in the survey below.)

Since my first day in Congress, I have made an effort to work across the aisle and to find common ground where possible to deliver for our community and our country.  And this is because it is not only the right thing to do, it is because it is a priority for people across our district.  I often hear from people in our district, who ask me about opportunities to work across the aisle.  It is important to me to report to you each week in this email and in other ways about bipartisan successes in the Congress.  We need an deserve a Congress that works for us all.

The new Speaker has the opportunity get us back to governing.  We may not agree on the issues to address, or the solutions to them, but we can agree that we need to govern responsibly together.  There is a path forward that I hope my Republican colleagues will take.  Today, Leader Jeffries shared one vision for governance in the Washington Post, which you can read here.

I will, of course, keep you informed of developments and my perspective as this process moves forward.

Although much of the week was focused on the motion to vacate, I also co-sponsored several pieces of legislation on issues important to our community, including:

• The End Shutdowns Act, H.R. 5353, to prevent government shutdowns and initiate an automatic continuing resolution on October 1 if no appropriations bill is passed by that date;
• The Pay Our Military Act, H.R. 5667, to ensure that all members of the U.S. Armed Forces, including civilian personnel, contractors and active- and non-active reserve members, continue to get paid during a government shutdown; and
• The Fair Pay for Federal Contractors Act, H.R. 5810, to ensure federal contract workers, including low-wage food service, janitorial and security service workers, are fairly compensated for the wages and benefits lost due to a lapse in appropriations, and
• The Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act of 2023, H.R. 2953, to eliminate forced arbitration clauses in employment, consumer, and civil rights cases.

Wednesday evening, I hosted a telephone town hall, and I was glad to have more than 1,700 of our neighbors participate in the event.  Originally, we planned the town hall to answer questions about the government shutdown that looked all but certain, expecting that I would be in Washington working to get the government reopened.  Of course, we had averted a shutdown but by Wednesday had many questions to address on the historic vote to remove Speaker McCarthy, the next government funding deadline in mid-November, and questions from constituents about military pay, assistance programs, Ukraine funding, and the status of federally funded infrastructure projects in our district.  I am grateful to everyone who joined and to have had the opportunity to hear your questions and concerns. 

On Tuesday, neighbors across the district and across the Houston region celebrated National Night Out.  Team TX-07 joined police, fire fighters, community leaders and neighbors all across the district, building bonds and making connections across our community.

And in Washington this week, our team met with advocates from groups including Nature Conservancy Texas, Stronger Through Seafood, Texas Retired Teachers Association, and the International Campaign for the Rohingya.

It's turning up lucky number 7 everywhere Astros fans look: 7 straight years in the playoffs, the Astros’ first game of the playoffs on October 7, with people throughout TX-07 rooting for them!  Here’s to a great postseason for the Houston Astros!

The House will reconvene next week, and the House Republican Conference has announced it will meet with candidates on Tuesday and nominate a new Speaker on Wednesday.  I will be back in Washington to vote for a new speaker and to work on legislative business.

On Saturday, October 21, our team will host an informational event with representatives from our country’s five military service academies.  Students interested in attending one of the academies following high school graduation and their parents are invited to join us at Alief Community Center in Room 1511 any time 11:00 a.m. through 1:00 p.m.  Please call our Houston office (713) 353-8680 if you have any questions.

I have the privilege and pleasure of nominating outstanding students from our district to four of the five service academies each year.  Ahead of attending our Military Service Academy Day, I recommend that students review the nomination application form on my website here to learn more about the process.  Applications are due Friday, November 3.

And, one more opportunity for students: Wednesday, November 1, the Congressional App Challenge closes and final submissions must be uploaded to the portal here.

As always, I am proud to represent you and I am here to help you.  Please call my office at (713) 353-8680 or (202) 225-2571 or email here at any time to ask for assistance or share your thoughts.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes,