A group of House Republicans — most of whom are members of the Freedom Caucus — agreed to stop a weeklong blockade of House proceedings.
Last Monday, 11 member of the conference voted against two gas-stove bills GOP leadership wanted to shepherd through a procedural hurdle. Several of them remarked to reporters that they were frustrated with the debt-ceiling deal Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) agreed with President Joe Biden, which in their view did not go far enough.
The move was a break with longstanding House tradition, in which members of the majority party, which sets the agenda, vote in a unified block to overcome procedural hurdles. After the procedural vote, members are afforded more latitude to vote against a bill they disagree with. The rebels appear willing to continue ignoring these traditions.
“I could care less, and neither could my voters,” argued Representative Eli Crane (R., Ariz.) when asked about violating House norms. “Tradition be damned; we have to change the way this town works.”
After a meeting with McCarthy on Monday, Representative Ralph Norman (R., S.C.) confirmed to reporters that the eleven rebels, a group that also includes representatives Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.) and Tim Burchett (R., Tenn.), would vote to advance bills on Tuesday, including the Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act, a bill to protect pistol-stabilizing braces, and a bill to create a special envoy for the Abraham Accords.
The meeting did not go by without fierce clashes. Moderates in the GOP conference blasted the House Freedom Caucus for wasting everyone’s time. Representative Derrick Van Norden (R., Wis.) had sharp words for his conservative colleagues. Frustrated that four days had gone by without a vote while his daughter is facing an ongoing battle with cancer, Van Norden said: “[I show] up to work every f***ing day.”
However, the rebels promised to grind the House back to a halt if they do not get concessions in the future. “If there’s not a renegotiated power sharing agreement, then perhaps we’ll be back here next week” explained Gaetz, who has previously said: “We’re not going to live in the era of the imperial speaker anymore.”
In January, McCarthy agreed to a set of demands from a group of conservative representatives blocking him from becoming speaker. He was ultimately elected to the House’s top post on the 15th attempt.
Appropriations could become a major point of contention later this year. Gaetz ruled out an omnibus spending bill, saying the rebels will only support a series of smaller appropriations packages.
Norman explained that the rebels are “concerned about the economic security of this country.”
“If we don’t have that, there’s gonna be fights. There’s a lot more fights down the road,” Norman added.
McCarthy has given the rebels fresh assurances there will be spending cuts, but he is walking a tightrope as appropriations bills must also be approved by a Democratic-controlled Senate and White House.
Appropriations chairwoman Kay Granger (R., Texas) said in a statement issued Monday that the negotiated cap for fiscal-year-2024 spending represents “a ceiling, not a floor.”
“That is why I will use this opportunity to mark up appropriations bills that limit new spending to the fiscal year 2022 topline level,” Granger said.