It looks possible
Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus took an official position against the two-tiered stopgap funding bill aimed at averting a government shutdown just hours before it is set to come to the floor for a vote on Tuesday.
New Speaker Mike Johnson met with the group of conservative hardliners on Monday evening in hopes of selling the bill to skeptics. The group isn’t pleased with the legislation, but doesn’t plan to try to oust Johnson over the move.
HFC members are furious that the legislation keeps 2023 funding levels intact.
Johnson has repeatedly argued that the “laddered continuing resolution” — with some funding lasting until January and the rest until Feb. 2 — would prevent the House from being rolled by a sweeping omnibus spending bill from the Senate.
Eight conservatives joined with Democrats in October to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), citing his decision to bring up a resolution that extended current spending levels.
That’s a funny way of putting it, don’t you think? The Democrats didn’t file the motion to vacate the chair and they didn’t vote against McCarthy because of it. They just had the opportunity to vote for their own leader and they did. The whole thing was on Republicans who ostensibly couldn’t stomach working with Democrats to pass a continuing resolution with no cuts.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) told reporters “Here we are, we’re doing the same thing,” noting that they’ll oppose the plan but want to give Johnson time to find footing in his new role.
Anyway, it appears that the Freedom Caucus won’t oust Mike Johnson for doing the same thing McCarthy did. They’ll vote against it and let Johnson pass it with Democratic help. (Dems will do it because it doesn’t feature any spending cuts and they aren’t children who just want to hold their breath until they turn blue no matter who it hurts.)
But Johnson should remember, it only takes one to file it and only four to turn him out. He’d better mind his ps and qs. There are a lot of renegades in the House GOP right now. And they’re feeling feisty.