Speaker Mike Johnson pushed through a new House rules package that included last-minute changes that tweaked when certain bills can be voted on, and made it harder for lawmakers to boot a sitting speaker of the House. 

The rules package for the 119th Congress included a slew of Republican priorities for the inner workings of the House, and included compromises on certain procedures that could earn Mr. Johnson, Louisiana Republican, some cushion from hardliners that have been critical of his tenure as speaker. 

Republicans framed the rule changes as a positive step forward to implement President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda, while Democrats were incensed over some of the last-minute changes. The House passed the rule changes 215-to-209. 

The rules package also includes an extension of the House’s subpoena powers from the previous session, and teed up a vote on a dozen Republican bills to be voted on at a later date. 

The biggest-ticket item in the package was a change to the motion to vacate the chair, which gave Mr. Johnson protection from an arcane procedure that gained prominence during the last session of Congress. 

Rep. Erin Houchin, Indiana Republican, called the change to the motion to vacate “necessary” in order for the GOP to “avoid the chaos and personal vendettas from derailing our work as was done in the last Congress.”

It now takes nine lawmakers from the majority party instead of one from either party to force a vote to oust a speaker.  

Lawmakers got a taste of the seldom-used move in 2023 when former Rep. Matt Gaetz booted Speaker Kevin McCarthy, which eventually resulted in Mr. Johnson being chosen as his successor. 

It was again unsuccessfully brought forward by a trio of Republicans — Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Paul Gosar of Arizona — early last year over issues with Mr. Johnson’s handling of negotiations with House Democrats on spending bills, and putting Ukraine aid up for a vote.

Democrats took issue with the change, particularly over allowing only members of the majority party to enact proceedings to oust a sitting speaker. 

Democratic lawmakers also disliked one of the last-minute changes to the rules that would only allow bills run under suspension — which requires at least two-thirds of the House to vote in favor of to pass — to be brought to the House floor only on Monday through Wednesday. 

Mr. Johnson used that process often to pass major spending legislation, and most recently put the latest government funding extension under suspension on the floor on a Friday, hours before the deadline to keep the government open. 

Rep. James McGovern, the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee, argued that the change to suspension bills would slow down the House from passing bills, particularly when dealing with a “national emergency like a natural disaster, or a terror attack.” 

“That’s actually why this extreme Republican majority wants to make this change, they hate bipartisanship,” Mr. McGovern, Massachusetts Democrat, said. 

• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.