Rep. Bob Good, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, alerted House Speaker Mike Johnson that it’s no cinch that he has votes from the three-dozen-member arch-conservative caucus.
“Don’t assume you have our votes for the things that don’t matter, when you don’t want them for things that do matter,” Mr. Good, Virginia Republican, told the Hill on Friday.
Mr. Good’s message comes after the House passed yet another stopgap bill to avert a partial government shutdown this week.
The lawmaker urged Mr. Johnson, Louisiana Republican, to add more stringent border policies to the legislation, claiming they would capture the momentum of over a dozen Democrats who voted against President Biden’s illegal immigration welcome mat this week.
However, Mr. Johnson didn’t relent, and the Good conservatives voted against short-term funding extensions.
Mr. Johnson, like his predecessor, has struggled to quell rebellions from his right flank throughout his short tenure as speaker.
Mr. Good’s promise to use his and the Freedom Caucus’ votes as a cudgel against the speaker sets up a rocky path for the GOP-led House because of Mr. Johnson’s razor-thin majority, which will shrink this week when Rep. Bill Johnson, Ohio Republican, retires to assume Youngstown State University’s presidency.
The speaker has more trouble mounting. A handful of arch-conservatives have threatened to oust him if he fails to toughen border security in Senate negotiations dealing with Ukraine and Israel aid.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.
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