House Republicans leaders’ hopes for a short-term spending plan that would temporarily avoid government shutdown at the end of the month quickly has run aground, as more than a dozen conservatives vowed not to support it.
Why it matters: The plan’s rapid failure reflects the difficulty the GOP-led House faces in agreeing on a government spending plan: It called for budget cuts that never would have cleared the Democrat-led Senate, but wouldn’t cut spending enough for compromise-resistant conservatives.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), leading a razor-thin majority, can afford to lose only four Republican votes if there are no absences.
The plan negotiated Sunday by the House Freedom Caucus and the more moderate moderate Republican Main Street Caucus didn’t come close to that.
Three GOP sources confirmed that a more conservative stopgap measure that falls closer in line with the Republican Study Committee’s asks has been drafted.
Conservatives have adamantly called for significant spending cuts in appropriations bills and any stop-gap measure that comes to the floor. They also want border security measures.
What they’re saying: Those opposing Sunday’s plan included Republican Reps. Matt Gaetz (Florida), Cory Mills (Florida), Andy Ogles (Tennessee), Eli Crane (Arizona), Dan Bishop (North Carolina), Matt Rosendale (Montana) and Ken Buck (Colorado).
“It’s irresponsible for us to be in this situation and not deal seriously with a looming fiscal catastrophe,” Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) told Axios.
Mills tweeted that he was a “HARD NO!”
The big picture: Some GOP lawmakers have said the stalemate has put McCarthy’s speakership on rockier ground, and an increasing number of conservatives are criticizing his handling of the appropriations process.
In recent days, Gaetz and a few other conservatives repeatedly have threatened to call for a vote to oust McCarthy from his leadership post if he does not more robustly support their efforts to approve significant spending cuts and other conservative priorities.
