Government spending fight spells trouble for McCarthy speakership
Cami Mondeaux
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The House returned to Capitol Hill on Tuesday and conservative lawmakers are underscoring their demands for a deal on government funding, with several hinting at trouble for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as he seeks to appease all corners of his party while also holding on to his No. 1 position in the lower chamber.
Members of the House Freedom Caucus reiterated their previously issued ultimatum to House leaders on Tuesday, vowing to vote against any spending legislation that is brought to the floor unless a slew of GOP priorities are included. That pledge involves a number of demands, such as a vote on border legislation and the end of “woke policies” in the Pentagon, among other things.
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“We’re not interested in a continuing resolution that continues the policies and the spending of the Biden-Schumer-Pelosi era,” House Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry (R-PA) said. “We’re not going to vote for it. We didn’t vote for it last December, and we’re not going to vote for it now.”
Other rank-and-file Republicans have issued their own separate demands as spending battles continue, including from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who has become a vocal critic of McCarthy in recent days.
In a heated floor speech on Tuesday, Gaetz accused McCarthy of being “out of compliance” with the agreement that was brokered among House Republicans in exchange for their support during the speakership elections in January. Gaetz listed a number of demands he said were part of the initial speakership agreement that have yet to materialize, such as deep budget cuts for the next fiscal year.
The Florida Republican then took it a step further, warning that if McCarthy puts forward a continuing resolution to avert a government shutdown at the end of the month, he will advance a motion to vacate.
“I rise today to serve notice, Mr. Speaker, that you are out of compliance with the agreement that allowed you to assume this role,” Gaetz said in a floor vote on Tuesday. “The path forward for the House of Representatives is to either bring you into immediate, total compliance or remove you pursuant to a motion to vacate the chair.”
That sentiment was echoed by a handful of members of the House Freedom Caucus, who lamented that McCarthy has not held up his end of the deal.
“The fact of the matter is, let’s be very clear, we talked about reducing spending. That was part of the agreement,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) said. “We haven’t done what we agreed to do. We talked about passing a balanced budget. We talked about actually passing a budget. We haven’t done that.”
Roy stopped short of saying whether he’d back a motion to vacate if McCarthy pushes forward a continuing resolution, but the Texas Republican remained adamant that “under no circumstances should we have a … clean CR.”
Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) reiterated that statement, noting a vote on a continuing resolution that does not include measures dealing with border security or the Department of Justice “would endanger Speaker McCarthy’s leadership.
“We will not kick the can of addressing excessive government spending down the road again in order to find the time to get another horrendous backroom deal,” Clyde said. “Such a decision would not only fail to deliver on our promises but would ultimately fail the American people who sent us here to fix this broken system.”
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Rather, caucus members vowed to pass all 12 appropriations bills individually as their solution to avoid a government shutdown — noting they would stay in Washington until the budget is finalized. Congress has until Sept. 30 to pass the budget for the next fiscal year, after which the government will run out of money and will shut down until a deal is made.
The House has only passed one of its appropriations bills so far, with lawmakers hoping to push its Defense Department spending legislation past the lower chamber this week. Still, Congress has only 18 days to get the rest through both chambers to avert a shutdown.