House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) responded to the flux of rank-and-file Republicans expressing opposition to the party’s stopgap government spending deal, indicating a long week ahead for GOP leadership as it seeks to wrangle enough support within the conference to advance the must-pass legislation.
Republicans on the House Freedom and Main Street caucuses announced a deal on a continuing resolution late Sunday night, presenting a proposal to keep the government funded for 30 days while lawmakers continue negotiations on the annual budget. The deal was quickly met with resistance from members of their party, putting the bill in peril due to Republicans’ slim majority in the House.
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“I don’t know,” McCarthy said when asked if he thinks the deal will pass through the House this week. “But this was something that was devised from the bottom up. Let’s see where people get to.”
McCarthy warned of the prospects of failing to fund the government, noting he has “never seen anybody win a shutdown” — adding that doing so would only result in handing leverage to Democrats and the White House. However, the GOP leader expressed optimism the deal could still make its way through the lower chamber by the end of the week.
"It's a good thing I love a challenge because every day is going to be a challenge,” he said. “If you want to secure the border, pass Homeland [appropriations bill]. If you want to make America strong and secure, pass the DOD approps bill. If you're not willing to pass appropriation bills, and you're not willing to pass a continuing resolution to allow you to pass the rest of appropriation bills, and you don't want an omnibus, I don't quite know what you want.”
With Republicans having a slim majority in the lower chamber, McCarthy can only afford to lose four GOP votes if all Democrats oppose the legislation. So far, at least nine House Republicans have come out in opposition of the bill, putting the chamber's leadership in a bind as it hopes for a vote sometime this week.
Members who have come out publicly as a “hard no” include Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Eli Crane (R-AZ), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), Dan Bishop (R-NC), Cory Mills (R-FL), Tony Gonzales (R-TX), Tim Burchett (R-TN), and Matt Rosendale (R-MT). Additionally, Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) told the Washington Examiner he is a “lean no” on the bill but wanted to wait until he gets more information before making a final decision.
McCarthy brushed off the initial reactions from the GOP conference, arguing it’s likely several of the members aren’t fully informed on the bill’s contents just yet.
"I mean, the Freedom Caucus and the Main Street are the ones that came up with the plan,” he said. “So, have they read it yet? I mean, one thing I always know with members, sometimes, they haven't read all the way through it. Let's let them understand what it is and see where they are.”
So far, the House has passed just one of its 12 appropriations bills after GOP leaders canceled votes on the defense bill due to a lack of support among hard-line conservatives. Several of those who held up the DOD appropriations bill are the same members now opposing the continuing resolution proposal.
However, McCarthy said that intraparty opposition would no longer hinder progress on the floor, telling reporters on Monday the defense spending bill would be brought up for a vote this week “regardless.”
“There's not one member who told me anything in the DOD bill they oppose,” McCarthy said. “I don't know if they're just opposed to moving individual bills or what, but that's not a good, strong place or position to be in.”
The 31-day continuing resolution includes all of H.R. 2, the House’s border security bill, minus E-verify, other border security provisions, and spending cuts. The bill would keep defense and veteran affairs spending at fiscal 2023 levels and slash other domestic agency funding by 8%. The bill does not include any funding for Ukraine.
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This would bring spending to $1.59 trillion — the spending level set in the bipartisan debt ceiling deal signed into law in June.
Hard-line conservatives have called for spending to be set at $1.471 trillion. Many have also said they needed to see H.R. 2 or other strict border security measures in any continuing resolution for it to receive their support. But even with the border security provisions in this measure, they are still against it.