Unpacking the House GOP’s new rules: A handy guide to the changes

Their victories only grew as McCarthy pushed toward his 15th-ballot speakership victory, however: Conservatives successfully pushed to allow a single member to propose what’s known as a “motion to vacate the chair,” a vote that would effectively topple a sitting speaker. And they secured the ability to seat three of their own on the House Rules Committee, which would give McCarthy’s right flank de facto veto power over any bill that comes to the floor.

Conservatives are also claiming victory on enshrining a rule first put in place by Democrats: requiring bills to be released at least 72 hours before a floor vote. But the package approved Monday night includes no new language to enforce that mandate.

At the heart of the rules push by rank-and-file conservatives, including many in the Freedom Caucus, is a desire to shape a more inclusive legislative process that concentrates less power with leadership. To that end, they have secured promises from leaders that aren’t formally written down in the rules, such as allowing more amendments to be considered on the floor and more widely distributing committee positions.

No matter the size of their victories on their side of the Capitol, though, House conservatives are soon to meet up with a harsh reality: Most legislation that passes their chamber is expected to be dead on arrival in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Here’s a look at the most consequential elements of the rules package that passed Monday night:

PAYGO vs. CUTGO

Republicans have killed Democrats’ “pay-as-you-go” rule, often shorthanded as PAYGO. It had required legislation that would add to the deficit to be offset with tax increases or spending cuts.

The GOP has replaced PAYGO with what it’s calling CUTGO, which requires mandatory spending increases to be offset only with equal or greater decreases in mandatory spending — no new taxes allowed. The GOP last put this into place in the 112th Congress.

That doesn’t mean that deficit-increasing tax cuts are off the table. The CUTGO rule only requires offsets if bills would increase mandatory spending within a five-year or 10-year budget window. For example, Republicans could pass extensions of the 2017 Trump tax cuts, some of which have set to expire in 2025 (while others already have).

The first bill Republicans are bringing to the floor once the rules package is adopted would increase the deficit by more than $114 billion over a decade, according to a nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office analysis released Monday. The measure from Adrian Smith (R-Neb.) would roll back about $80 billion in IRS funding and decrease revenues by nearly $186 billion.

Supermajority on taxes

House Republicans’ historically slim majority will, in its rules package, constrain itself severely on tax rate increases — requiring a three-fifths supermajority vote to pass any.

In practice, however, that’s more of a statement of ideology than a policymaking gesture. Unlike in the Senate, where 60 votes are needed to steer most bills past a filibuster, in the House Republicans will have nearly total control over what legislation and amendments are considered on the floor. And, of…