In the current Republican Party, it is the best of times and the worst of times. After more than a dozen rounds, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) finally secured the speakership and had made good on several of his commitments with a plethora of legislative pursuits that were destined to stay in the halls of the lower chamber, from abolishing the income tax to presenting a serious debt ceiling agreement with the Live, Save, Grow Act. But the debt limit deal with President Joe Biden might have been the straw that broke the elephant’s back in the GOP caucus.
Debt Ceiling Deal Triggers Revolt
Eleven conservatives, many of whom belong to the House Freedom Caucus, joined Democrats on Tuesday in voting against a rule to bring four bills to the House floor. The hardliners were the same individuals who were outraged by the Fiscal Responsibility Act, a group that includes Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Ken Buck (R-CO), and Chip Roy (R-TX).
The four pieces of legislation were related to gas stoves and regulatory reform. One of them was the Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act, which would have prohibited the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) from raising the price of gas stoves. Save Our Stoves Act was another bill that would restrict the Department of Energy from imposing an efficiency rule on gas stoves. They now will be prevented from being debated and voted on in the House, although political experts agree that these were message bills unlikely to pass the Senate.
It was indeed a dramatic scene that lasted for nearly an hour. First, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) quickly changed his vote to ensure that the rule would have another vote at a later date. Scalise then huddled with the Republican lawmakers in the back of the chamber. Then, on Wednesday, they struck again, refusing to yield the House floor.
“House Leadership couldn’t Hold the Line,” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) tweeted on Wednesday. “Now we Hold the Floor.” According to Reuters, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) told reporters Tuesday that he and his colleagues are “frustrated at the way this place is operating.”
“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,” he said. “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.”
After two days of failed votes and negotiations with the Freedom Caucus, House GOP leaders announced there would be no further votes this week.
Vacate the Speakership?
Kevin McCarthy (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
In the immediate aftermath of the debt ceiling agreement, a chorus of Freedom Caucus members discussed potentially submitting a motion to vacate during a May 29 call, according to NBC News. This measure would allow House members to force a vote to remove McCarthy as speaker of the House. When McCarthy was asked about this proposal, he was ostensibly not worried by this suggestion, saying that it was not “his choice.”
Even if McCarthy is not ousted from his position, it does highlight growing discontent surrounding America’s public purse among a field of Republicans. It is not only reckless abandon over the country’s finances that perturb hardline conservatives but the betrayal that many felt when a deal was announced. The speaker insisted that the nation’s finances need to get back on track. However, despite the myriad promises McCarthy and Co. have made, reality suggests this deal does little to address the fiscal challenges, especially as Washington is still on track to spend about $80 trillion over the next decade. Republicans may plan to return to the dollars and cents subject in the coming months, but the likelihood of achieving anything substantive is small.
Many conservatives believed that the debt ceiling negotiations were the time and place to accomplish pecuniary goals. Instead, McCarthy got played by the Biden administration. Can the coalition of conservatives threaten the leadership’s aims for the rest of the congressional class? Moreover, how will this influence the Republican Party’s presidential ambitions in 2024?
