Frustrations with House Speaker Mike Johnson and his handling of government spending boiled over on Wednesday when more than a dozen Republican lawmakers tanked a trio of conservative bills, freezing the House for the remainder of the day.
Tempers flared when the House returned to the new $1.66 trillion top-line deal that Mr. Johnson, Louisiana Republican, negotiated with Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat. House Freedom Caucus members contend the agreement represents a loss to Democrats and would result in higher spending despite including $16 billion in cuts.
Those frustrations emerged when 13 Republicans sank three GOP bills in protest of the overall spending level. One measure dealt with settlement slush funds, while the others were resolutions disapproving of Biden administration policies to redefine joint employer practices and roll back “Buy America” rules in the president’s push to bolster electric-vehicle infrastructure.
“This was a statement of a protest to say, ‘Hey, we’re not going to just go along to get along like everything’s OK,’” said Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good, Virginia Republican.
Earlier in the day, dissension erupted in the GOP’s weekly conference meeting where Mr. Johnson pitched the deal. Rep. Warren Davidson, Ohio Republican, stormed out and told reporters that the speaker “should never have been hired” last year to replace ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
“Currently the speaker has no plans to do anything except surrender, we’re hoping to change his mind,” Mr. Davidson said.
SEE ALSO: House Republicans tank bills to send tough message to Speaker Mike Johnson
His sentiments demonstrated, in part, how a growing number of conservatives feel about Mr. Johnson’s performance, particularly when it comes to fighting for spending cuts.
Mr. Johnson has touted the new top-line spending number as “the best possible deal” that the GOP could get, considering their razor-thin majority in the House.
Some House Republicans have floated the idea of ousting Mr. Johnson further raising the question of whether the speaker can survive his rebellious conference.
The speaker shrugged off the threats, saying he was “not concerned” about the possibility of facing a motion to vacate, the same move used to boot his predecessor.
“We have very different challenges. We’re going to advance the ball. We’re going to advance our conservative principles. We’re going to demonstrate that we can govern well,” Mr. Johnson said. “I’m going to keep trudging forward, but leadership is tough. You take a lot of criticism, but remember I am a hardline conservative. That’s what they used to call me.”
Mr. Good, who voted to oust Mr. McCarthy, said Mr. Johnson inherited a difficult situation.
SEE ALSO: Speaker Johnson ‘not concerned’ about possible push to oust him
“I don’t think someone who’s been a speaker for two and a half months should be judged the same way as someone who’s been in leadership, or who had been in leadership, in the Republican Party for a decade or more,” he said.
Meanwhile, Congress is hurtling toward deadlines on Jan. 19 and Feb. 2 to fund the government. While the top-line gives appropriators a defined number to work with, it was unveiled with less than two weeks to finish crucial spending work.
Veteran appropriators and Senate Republican leadership raised the alarm that another stopgap bill, providing funding possibly until March, will be necessary to avoid a partial government shutdown.
Mr. Johnson has not ruled out the possibility of another stopgap, despite declaring he would never pass another. That move could further anger his conservative critics, many of whom have vowed to see the government shut down if there are no real policy changes at the U.S.-Mexico border.
“I don’t know how you get the whole thing done without doing a [stopgap] for at least some of them,” Rep. Mike Simpson, who chairs the Interior appropriations subcommittee, told The Washington Times.
Four spending bills are up for next week’s deadline. The Senate has passed three, while the House has passed two.
Mr. Simpson, Idaho Republican, said some of the less controversial spending bills, like energy and water, could be finished before the pair of deadlines, but not all of them.
“Negotiating those things, it’s gonna take some time,” Mr. Simpson said. “So I don’t see how you get them all done by Feb. 2.”
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.