In a dramatic turn of events, conservative lawmakers are vowing revenge against House GOP leaders and their colleagues after being sidelined in a bipartisan deal to avoid a government shutdown. The House of Representatives passed a short-term government spending bill, known as a continuing resolution (CR), on Thursday to extend last year’s federal funding through early March. This move is intended to provide sufficient time for congressional negotiators to set priorities for fiscal year 2024. However, with a number of Republicans already expressing opposition to another CR, House leaders took an unconventional approach by bypassing a normally partisan procedural vote and bringing the bill up under suspension of the rules. This required a two-thirds majority for passage.
The decision to pass the spending bill with predominantly Democrat votes has sparked outrage among conservative lawmakers. House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good, R-Va., expressed his frustration, stating, “Once again, we passed a significant piece of legislation that keeps in place, with predominately Democrat votes, policies that were ran against and campaigned against.” Good warned that if their votes were not needed for important legislation impacting the country, such as funding the government, then they should not be expected to support “meaningless messaging bills” that are unlikely to pass in the Senate.
Hours before the vote, Good made a last-ditch appeal to Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to attach the spending bill to a border security bill called H.R.2, which is backed by most Republicans but was rejected by Democrats. The standoff between the two sides could have resulted in a government shutdown. Freedom Caucus member Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., emphasized the importance of prioritizing H.R.2 and expressed frustration with the lack of conservative input, stating, “If they don’t want to shut down the border, then it’s on them to shut down the government.”
This incident is not the first time conservative lawmakers have utilized procedural votes to voice their dissent. Rule votes, which are typically routine and follow partisan lines, have become a platform for House Republicans to protest leadership decisions. The use of suspension of the rules to pass spending bills has raised speculation about whether House GOP leaders will continue to sideline their rebellious faction during the fiscal 2024 spending bill process.
While some conservative lawmakers remain hopeful that Speaker Johnson, a fellow conservative, will not resort to using suspension of the rules, others are wary of this approach. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., expressed his concerns, stating, “I don’t like the suspension. I don’t like using Democrats to pass bills.” The Freedom Caucus member hinted at the possibility of staging more protest votes in the future.
The passage of the new CR in the House has further divided the GOP, with 107 voting for it and 106 against. The bill will now move to the Senate for consideration. The ongoing debate highlights the deep divisions within the Republican Party and the challenges faced by House leadership in navigating these divisions.
In conclusion, conservative lawmakers are seeking revenge against House GOP leaders for sidelining them in a bipartisan spending bill. The decision to pass the bill with predominantly Democrat votes has sparked outrage among conservatives, who feel that their voices and priorities are being ignored. This incident highlights the ongoing divisions within the Republican Party and the challenges faced by House leadership in maintaining unity. The fate of the spending bill now lies in the hands of the Senate, where further debates and negotiations are expected to take place.
