One group of centrist GOP lawmakers, led by Ohio Republican Rep. David Joyce, is preparing a resolution that would explicitly grant McHenry some power to bring legislation to the floor, endowing his role with new and defined authority.

“What’s taking place in the world — it’s important that we take time to empower the present speaker who’s there under rules that were never really officially developed,” said Joyce earlier this week. …

While Joyce is pushing to empower McHenry for a period of up to 90 days during which a speaker pro tempore would be empowered to advance legislation, it is not clear whether Republicans could unite around even a temporary leader.

Hardline conservatives and mainstream Republicans alike said Thursday they wanted to stay focused on electing a new speaker, and many are likely to resist handing McHenry more authority.

[There’s another McHenry option that Democrats are hinting at — making him the Speaker in the next floor vote themselves, in exchange for concessions on floor votes and committee representation. That’s not going to work either, as Democrats would own the speakership through the MTV mechanism and the GOP resentment McHenry will earn if he does cut a deal. At some point, the House GOP are going to have to find someone to support as a bloc, or else face voter wrath in 2024 over their bungling of the Republican majority. — Ed]