The Freedom Caucus Is Outraged at the Freedom Caucus’ Government Funding Bill

Over the weekend, a few Republican members from both the conservative House Freedom Caucus and the moderate Main Street Caucus cut a deal on a short-term government funding bill to avert a shutdown at the end of September.

The 165-page measure keeping the government funded for a month would include most of House Republicans’ border security bill and make a roughly 8 percent cut to government spending (except for defense, veterans, and disaster relief). It includes none of the additional funding for disaster relief and Ukraine aid that the Biden administration has requested. House leaders hope to pass it on Thursday.

The three co-authors from the Freedom Caucus include its chairman, Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry, as well as Florida Rep. Byron Donalds and Texas Rep. Chip Roy. These men have sterling conservative reputations within the Freedom Caucus, so getting support from the other Freedom Caucus hard-asses should be no proble—

Gah!

Yeesh!

Blergh.

As of early Monday afternoon, there were around a dozen House conservatives openly opposed to the bill. Just how dedicated are some members of this “hard no” squad? Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna just had a baby and is recovering from fever and infection but “will fly to vote no because I know how important this is.”

Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was booted from the Freedom Caucus earlier this year, but she’s still a “NO!” in part because the bill would continue to fund special counsel Jack Smith’s office. This is a common sentiment among the holdouts. Indiana Rep. Victoria Spartz, who is not seeking reelection and is spending her remaining days in Congress getting mad, released a withering statement on Speaker Kevin McCarthy, saying, “Real leadership takes courage and willingness to fight for the country, not for power and a picture on a wall.”

For some of these current noes, it could be posturing. (Probably not for Rep. Matt Gaetz, who’s already talking about McCarthy’s final days as speaker and seems intent on ousting him.) They could be being obstinate to get a few more concessions like “defunding Jack Smith” or whatever other catnip’s out there, and then they could fall in line. It really doesn’t matter what’s put in the bill so long as it gets McCarthy 218 votes and kicks the can to the Senate.

And it doesn’t matter what’s put in this bill because it is going nowhere. The Senate Democratic majority isn’t going to accept an 8-percent cut to non-defense spending. They’re not going to swallow Republicans’ border bill. A lot of Senate Republicans won’t either. Should this bill somehow reach the Senate, then, the Senate will send it back to the House at regular spending levels with supplementary Ukraine aid and fresh disaster relief monies attached. Then, the Senate will jam McCarthy and House Republicans. The only benefit that passing this preliminary House bill would offer is a menu from which President Biden and the Senate can choose a bone to throw at McCarthy. A final compromise won’t “defund Jack Smith,” for example. But perhaps it would bar him from entering any Subway sandwich shop in the District of Columbia, effectively starving the man.

On Monday, McCarthy wasn’t exuding confidence about the short-term bill’s passage.

“I don’t know,” he told reporters when asked whether the House can pass it. “But this was something devised by bottom up. Let’s see where we’ll get to.”

Let’s see!