11/22/25

House Republicans are throwing cold water on the idea of making discharge petitions harder to execute — and threatening to launch even more of the rarely used gambits to circumvent leadership.

The heightened interest in the rarely used tool comes after Democrats teamed up with a small group of Republicans to force a vote on a bill requiring the Justice Department to release files related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Though only four Republicans signed the petition, the legislation passed the House 427-1, was unanimously approved by the Senate and was signed by President Trump this week.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who for months had opposed the Epstein files bill, on Friday pushed back on an Axios report that he was considering changing the House rules on discharge petitions.

“That hasn’t even been part of the discussion and not something that I’ve anticipated,” Johnson speaker told Fox News Digital in an interview on Friday.

The outlet stood by its story, which also quoted House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) saying he would like to see a higher threshold for discharge petitions. 

Amid the back-and-forth, House Republicans vehemently doubled down on the importance of maintaining the discharge petition, calling it a crucial tool for rank-and-file members.

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) argued on X that a discharge petition “is a tool of every member to ensure important issues, that have the support of a majority of the house, see the light of day.”

“It is not common, in fact it is extremely rare, and generally only happens when there is bipartisan consensus in the House and broad public support,” Lawler wrote on the social platform. “I oppose any effort to change the House rules or limit the right of individual members. Putting all of the power into the hands of leadership is wrong.”

Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) told the Hill that he’d be “skeptical to make changes,” unless he’s convinced otherwise.

“At the end of the day, this is a democratic body, and so it needs – I think that that’s kind of an outlet. Now, personally, I’ve never signed a discharge petition. I think it’s a hostile move against leadership, but I don’t know that I want that opportunity to be taken away completely,” Burlison said.

Even some of Trump’s closest allies have cast doubt on a rules change. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), whom Trump endorsed for Florida governor, told The Hill he’s not the “biggest fan.”

“At the end of the day, we’re a majoritarian body. That’s what we are, and so I think…that still has to be the framework of the House of Representatives,” he said. 

Discharge petitions, which allow members to force legislation to the floor with 218 signatures, are rarely successful because they require a certain number of lawmakers to buck their own party’s leaders.

But they’ve seen more success in recent years, as House members become seemingly more bold in pushing back against leadership and the House contends with a razor-thin margin that means only a handful of majority party members need to sign on.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), for instance, successfully garnered 218 signatures on a petition in March to force floor action on a bipartisan resolution allowing new parents in the House to vote by proxy. 

Johnson later ended up striking a deal with Luna in exchange for her not forcing a vote on the resolution.

Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) this week secured enough signatures on a petition to force a vote on legislation to restore union rights for hundreds of thousands of federal workers.

“I respect the Speaker. I came in with him. I admire him. He’s a good man, honest…But in this case, he’s got some constraints too. So having a 218 discharge petition, it gives the body a chance to have a way to get something on the floor,” said Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), one of the five GOP lawmakers who endorsed the petition.

“You got to give us a chance from the bottom up to get some things on the floor. The speaker controls the agenda 99% of the time. Let’s give the other 434 members a chance to put something on the floor if we think (it’s) important,” Bacon added. 

And a discharge petition led by former Reps. Garret Graves (R-La.) and Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) to reform certain aspects of Social Security was signed into law earlier this year.

More could be in store.

Luna told The Hill this week she is ready to introduce a discharge petition on the issue of a congressional stock trading ban, if no action is taken on a bipartisan bill by Friday.

“The ONLY way we may be able to BAN insider trading is by using a discharge petition. Any move to take this away as a tool FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE will be viewed as a hostile ACT by the SWAMP and I WILL OPPOSE AT ALL COSTS,” Luna wrote on X. 

And Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) on Friday said he has submitted a discharge petition to force a vote on bipartisan legislation imposing punishing sanctions on countries enabling Russia’s war against Ukraine. 

“Today, we have officially notified both the Clerk of the House and House leadership of our discharge petition to force a vote on crushing Russian sanctions immediately upon our return,” he said.

Democrats, too, on Friday stood by the importance of keeping the discharge petition rules intact.

“The entire point of a discharge petition is that it’s meant as a check on power, to say, you know, that leadership cannot block a piece of legislation that the majority of members would pass…And so raising the threshold, I think, it’s just fundamentally wrong, and it’s one of the few things that members use to break through gridlock in Washington to pass bipartisan legislation,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said.

She added that changing the rules, “It would bring more power to Johnson. It would take away power from Republican members, because, for example, you know, I’m working on the congressional stock trading ban. I have bipartisan Republican partners, Anna Paulina Luna, Brian Fitzpatrick, Tim Burchett, and…congressional stock trading is something that leadership famously opposes in both parties, and so this is one of the only mechanisms that we have for, you know, frankly, working class members to try to fix this institution and prevent insider trading.”

And Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) said the discharge petition is “an incredibly important way for members to be able to make sure that legislation gets brought up that has the support of the majority of the body, and I would not be in support of anything that makes it harder to get done.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5618249-republicans-discharge-petitions-epstein