House conservatives on Tuesday blew up an effort by GOP leadership to advance several bills in a dramatic confrontation on the House floor, the result of a revolt against the debt limit deal cut by Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and President Biden just days before.
Eleven Republicans — most of whom are members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus — joined Democrats in voting against a rule to advance four bills related to gas stoves and regulatory reform, enough opposition to tank the rule and block the legislation from advancing to the floor.
Just before the vote closed, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) changed his vote to oppose the rule as well, a move that allows him to bring up the rule for another vote at a later time. The final vote was 206-220.
The revolt made for a dramatic scene on the House floor, where Scalise huddled with more than a dozen conservatives in the back of the chamber in a tense effort to flip votes and allow the bills to advance to the floor.
The normally-routine rule vote — which was scheduled to be only five minutes — went on for more than 50 minutes.
The revolt was a reality check for McCarthy, who has been taking a victory lap after Congress passed and Biden signed a bill to suspend the debt limit that was the product of negotiations between House Republicans and the White House.
“We’re frustrated at the way this place is operating,” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) — one of the conservative who voted against the rule — told reporters as the vote was still happening.
“We took a stand in January to end the era of the imperial Speakership, and we’re concerned that the fundamental commitments that allowed Kevin McCarthy to assume the Speakership have been violated as a consequence of the debt limit deal. And, you know, the answer for us is to reassert House conservatives as the appropriate coalition partner for our leadership instead of them making common cause with Democrats,” he added.
At the center of the clash was Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.), who has been embroiled in a back-and-forth with Scalise over the Georgia Republican’s legislation regarding a pistol stabilizing brace.
Clyde alleged that leadership threatened to block his bill from receiving a vote on the floor if he opposed the rule on the debt ceiling bill. Scalise Tuesday morning said he had a conversation with Clyde about problems the bill would face because of Republican opposition to the measure. He said, however, that GOP leadership was “working hard” to get the legislation passed.
Following that response, Clyde doubled-down.
“Let me be unequivocally clear, I was threatened that if I voted against the closed rule to the debt ceiling agreement, it would be very difficult to bring my pistol stabilizing brace bill to the House floor vote a vote,” he said.
“Over the last few days, I have had several positive conservations with leadership about getting a vote on my bill next week, and it is my intention to hold them to that commitment,” he added.
Updated at 3:12 p.m.