Rank-and-file House Republicans are increasingly irate about arch-conservatives disrupting the GOP agenda, and some want to punish the rebels.
The lawmakers say they are fed up with the Freedom Caucus and its arch-conservative allies wielding the razor-thin majority as a cudgel against House Republican leaders — torpedoing bills, threatening to shutter the government, booting House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and now talking about ousting Speaker Mike Johnson.
Rep. Max Miller, a conservative Ohio Republican, said the rebels squandered opportunities to score wins such as when they scuttled Mr. McCarthy’s stopgap spending bill last year that included tough border measures and deep cuts.
“Make it make sense,” Mr. Miller said. “We have a bunch of members within this conference who continue to want to elevate their platform, and raise money and put themselves before the country, and I think that the American people can see it.”
Mr. Miller said the roughly 20 members of the House Freedom Caucus who have acted as perennial thorns in the sides of Mr. Johnson and Mr. McCarthy should face repercussions. He suggested stripping them of committee assignments or cutting them off from fundraising.
“What kills me is when I have to look at my colleagues who continuously put themselves before the country, and they know what they’re doing is wrong,” he said. “And we need to change that and we need better people to come here on the Republican side and on the Democrat side.”
House Freedom Caucus members, however, aren’t worried about being reprimanded by their colleagues and insist the rebels are the ones staying true to the conservative agenda.
Rep. Bob Good, chairman of the Freedom Caucus, told The Washington Times in a statement that they would continue to focus on spending cuts and securing the border even if their tactics are unpopular with other conservatives in the House Republican Conference.
“I don’t have time to waste commenting on every silly comment made in a House conference meeting or on X,” said Mr. Good, Virginia Republican. “But if members are looking to punish conservatives for trying to keep our promises, good luck keeping a majority.”
Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee, who was among the eight Republicans who voted to eject Mr. McCarthy in October, said he and his peers were following the rules that Mr. McCarthy agreed to when they teamed up with Democrats to oust him.
He argued that major issues, like the country’s staggering $34 trillion national debt and massive influx of illegal migrants, were not fully addressed until they took action against the speaker.
“Now we’re at least talking about addressing them,” Mr. Burchett said.
Other conservatives, like Rep. Garret Graves, are pushing for the same things that many of the disruptive arch-conservatives are, including reduced spending and securing the border.
But he said the rebels’ tactics were “idiotic” and they were espousing conservative ideals while producing more liberal outcomes.
“What’s most important is we get the truth out there that these tactics have resulted in further empowering Jeffries, Pelosi, Biden, Schumer,” Mr. Graves told The Times.
Mr. Johnson, who could lose his job if just three Republicans turn on him, isn’t talking about taking punitive action now. But he didn’t rule it out in the future.
“I will tell you, if we find ourselves in the minority next year, or if we have a bigger majority, those folks are all in trouble,” said Mr. Johnson, Louisiana Republican.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.