Democrats rage as Johnson restricts their ability to oust him

• "This makes it clear that they have no intention of working together to find common ground," Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee, said of the rules change in a statement.
• McGovern added: "Instead of electing a Speaker of the House, they have decided to elect a Speaker of the Republican Conference—held hostage by their most extreme members."
• Democrats are likely to follow McGovern's lead and close ranks against the package, a senior House Democrat told Axios.

Driving the news: The 36-page rules package for the 119th Congress, unveiled on Wednesday, raises the threshold to introduce what is called a "motion to vacate" in multiple ways.

• Whereas in the last Congress, any single House member could introduce such a motion, now eight others have to co-sponsor the measure.
• But all nine of those lawmakers have to be members of the majority party — which will be the Republicans in this Congress.
• The rules change is part of a deal struck by House Republicans' internal factions in November as the party renominated Johnson for speaker.

Zoom out: For most of U.S. history, any singular House member in either party has been able to introduce a motion to vacate.

• That changed in 2019, when House Democrats took control of the chamber and made it so that it could only be introduced at the direction of either the House Democratic caucus or the House Republican conference.
• Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), as part of a deal to obtain the speakership in 2023, brought back the single-member rule.
• While three of the four motions to vacate introduced in U.S. history — including against Johnson and McCarthy — were brought by Republicans against GOP speakers, Democrat Albert Burleson introduced one against Republican Speaker Joseph Cannon in 1910.

What they're saying: "It's a very dark day for democracy in America if this is adopted," Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.), the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, told Axios.

• Morelle said he "can't imagine there is any precedent" for the rule, adding: "What's next? Allowing only Republicans to speak on the floor?"
• The senior House Democrat who spoke anonymously told Axios that their colleagues were reading through the text of the package on Wednesday and "don't like" the change.

Between the lines: Johnson likely has more to fear from his own party, even as his relationships with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and rank-and-file Democrats have all but broken down.

• He faces roughly a dozen GOP holdouts in the Jan. 3 speaker election, including a firm "no" in Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.).

• The rules change is "an indication of not just how weak he feels but how weak he actually is," said Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.), arguing that GOP leadership "can't stand on its own without bending and changing rules."
• Said Morelle: "I suppose this travesty is necessary in the Speaker's mind because his leadership is so tenuous. There's no way for him to 'win' the game unless the 'fix' is in. But this is deeply troubling."

What's next: The House is set to vote on the package on Jan. 3 after the speaker is elected and members are sworn in — though that may be contingent on Johnson winning on the first ballot.

• Rules packages are typically approved along party lines, though Johnson is set to have only a 219-215 majority with which to pass it.
• Some right-wing Republicans have threatened to tank the package over a provision in the bill teeing up a vote to sanction the International Criminal Court.

The bottom line: Some Democrats are warning Johnson against the move by arguing that it could end up backfiring on Republicans.

• Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) called it a "major mistake," telling Axios: "We didn't make the motion to vacate, his own members did. He came to us … to table the motion."
• "This will start the eroding of the minority party. Should this succeed, in just a couple of years his members won't be on committees or be able to file bills in the minority," he added. "You break it, you own it."