Ron DeSantis, Jeff Duncan quit House whip team
Two members of the House Republicansâ elite vote-counting operation have quit. Reps. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Jeff Duncan of South Carolina both gave notice that they no longer wanted to be part of the leadership operation, according to more than a half-dozen GOP sources. Story Continued Below Their departures come as Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the No. 3 House Republican, told members of the whip team that they would be kicked off if they voted against procedural motions. The move was designed to solidify control of the Republican conference. DeSantis and Duncan told Scalise that they were leaving the team before he made the announcement, according to one GOP source. âThis happens every new Congress, people come and go,â the source said. âIt was very conciliatory.â Procedural motions are important for the majority party because they allow lawmakers to proceed to debate and vote on the underlying legislation. Lawmakers are still allowed to remain on the whip team even if they vote against the underlying bill. However, leadership has decided to play hardball against them on rules, setting up the various procedural motions GOP leaders use to control the floor. Scaliseâs spokeswoman declined to comment. DeSantisâ and Duncanâs offices declined to comment. House Republicans have had trouble passing the rule on some controversial pieces of legislation. For instance, in 2014 the procedural motion that kept the government funded for a year passed only narrowly. DeSantis and Duncan are both members of the recently formed House Freedom Caucus, which conservatives formed as an alternative group to pressure leadership to advance more rightward legislation.