House Freedom Caucus to Oppose Measure to Avert Shutdown Unless Demands Met – By Kaia Hubbard (US News) / Aug 21, 2023
The hard-line group of conservatives said that its members would oppose a ‘clean’ continuing resolution to keep the government funded, listing policy demands.
The House Freedom Caucus announced on Monday it would oppose a stop-gap measure to keep the government funded unless certain conservative provisions are included, complicating efforts in Congress to avert a government shutdown come Oct. 1 and likely prompting a confrontation with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
The hard-line group of conservatives, which has been been a reliable thorn in McCarthy’s side since they held up his bid for the gavel, said in a statement that its members would oppose a “clean” continuing resolution, extending 2023 spending levels while lawmakers would be granted more time to come to agreement on the 12 appropriations bills they have been pursuing to fund the government. The group demanded instead that a CR include provisions to address border security, DOJ “weaponization” and end “woke” Pentagon policies.
With just one of the 12 appropriations bills having cleared the House, McCarthy reportedly told his conference during a call last week that he expects a CR will be necessary.
Punting the deadline to grant lawmakers more time to reach a deal has been common in government funding fights in recent years. Accordingly, leaders in Congress appeared to be on the same page this year as reality sets in that lawmakers will have only a small number of legislative days to approve the appropriations bills upon their return from August recess.
