Hard-line conservatives in the House left Washington frustrated because House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) didn’t follow through on his promises to pass spending legislation — though they didn’t necessarily blame him.
Johnson has been in office longer than his predecessor, who was ousted in part due to frustration over his handling of spending issues. But he is no closer to pleasing hardline conservatives on spending issues.
“It’s the same frustrations as last year,” said Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), a member of the House Freedom Caucus.
Despite leadership efforts to pass 12 regular appropriations bills, as hardliners desired, conservatives continue to use high-pressure tactics and oppose them due to disagreements over policies and spending levels.
Although Johnson promised, while running for speaker of the House last year, that he would keep the House in session until August until all bills were passed, the House canceled votes scheduled for the last week of July and went into recess for August earlier.
“I believed that we would really do something in the budget, in the expense accounts. That’s what we were told last year,” said Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.). “When Kevin [McCarthy] became president of the Chamber, that did not happen. And we were told that it would happen this year and if it didn’t happen, we would stay until August. This is not happening.”
“Don’t say things like that to me,” Biggs added, “if you don’t mean it.”
Unlike former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), however, hard-liners appear resigned to the fact that their spending bill goals will not be achieved — and they are not necessarily blaming the House Speaker. Chamber.
“This is just kind of par for the course. So even though I’m frustrated right now, this is what I expected,” Crane said of leaving the House without passing all of the bills.
Johnson, for his part, told reporters last week that the House could benefit from the rupture.
“We’ve had a tumultuous few weeks in American politics,” Johnson said, in a nod to the assassination attempts on former President Trump and President Biden, ending his re-election bid.
“It’s just a good time to give everyone some time to go home to the districts and campaign a little. We will come back, regroup and continue to work,” Johnson said.
Johnson’s press secretary, Athina Lawson, told The Hill in a statement that the House “has made significant progress in advancing [fiscal 2025] appropriations bills.”
“The House Appropriations Committee diligently withdrew all 12 bills from committee and the House approved 75 percent of the government’s funding for the next fiscal year, while the Senate has yet to consider a single appropriations bill. The Chamber will continue its successful effort to responsibly fund the government to [fiscal 2025] when I return from my district work period,” Lawson said.
As with McCarthy, Johnson’s handling of spending issues over the rest of the year has the potential to make or break his hopes of continuing to lead the Republican Party in the House next year.
Some members are already hoping to dump him.
“I think there should be a change in leadership now, tomorrow, the next day. I would do it as quickly as possible,” said Rep. Thomas Massie (Ky.), one of two Republicans who supported Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) effort to try to recall Johnson earlier this year.
But Massie acknowledged that “it’s not a good litmus” for the rest of the Republicans.
Meanwhile, some hardliners say they see progress and aren’t necessarily angry with the House speaker for starting the August recess early.
“I’m frustrated” with the appropriations process, said Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), a member of the Freedom Caucus. “I’m less frustrated than I was last year,” he added, citing “some incremental steps” in the right direction.
“Based on what we saw, it was probably relatively fruitless” to try to stay until August, Griffith said. “So I think the speaker of the House made the right decision.”
And Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) wasn’t eager to criticize Johnson in light of the spending bill mess.
“I think Mike has done a great job in terms of getting [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] here, in terms of moving forward with the SAVE Act, in terms of trying to hold together and push [appropriations] bills off – you know, we’ll see [how] all of this happens,” Roy said, referring to his bill the House passed earlier this month to expand proof of citizenship requirements for voting in federal elections.
Roy had some strategic suggestions.
He said the House should have passed a stopgap bill to continue funding the government after Sept. 30 that was combined with his voting eligibility bill — a package Democrats would certainly reject — so that Republicans could “give a beating” to the Democrats. August and say they “don’t want to fund the government while wanting to allow noncitizens to vote.”
More House Republicans are focusing on September as members on both sides of the aisle recognize that a stopgap will be needed to avoid a government shutdown.
The early fall deadline will also mark the one-year anniversary of McCarthy’s decision to force a vote on a “clean” interim funding bill, in a move that helped lead to his unprecedented impeachment shortly thereafter.
Johnson will face an even bigger test from hardliners over how he decides to avoid the threat of a shutdown. Cracks are already emerging during a stopgap as the 2024 presidential election cycle heats up.
Optimistic about former President Trump’s chances of regaining the Oval Office in November, many conservatives have been pushing for a stopgap that would fund the government next year. They say this would avoid the risk of being locked into a huge, sweeping spending package from the Democratic-led Senate and White House in December.
Other Republicans, however, have pushed to finish the funding work this year, as both parties are also beginning to prepare for what could be another nasty fight over the debt limit, on top of the country’s expired tax provisions. 2017 tax law signed by Trump.
“Different people have different opinions on the issue,” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), a hard-line conservative, said on the issue last week, noting that he and others in the Freedom Caucus support a stopgap until March.
“That’s the debate,” he said, adding that he “definitely” doesn’t want to see a bus.
Mychael Schnell contributed.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
