Conservative House Republicans who staged a mini-revolt against Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in the chamber Tuesday, are reportedly gearing up for more this week.
The 11 conservatives, led by the far-right Freedom Caucus, blocked a number of GOP-led bills from passing in the narrowly divided House last week. On Monday one of the leading conservatives, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), said, “What you saw last week was out of total frustration among all of us. And we’re actually more livid now.”
The standoff, which ultimately shut down House business for the rest of the week, was in retaliation against Speaker McCarthy’s having brokered with President Biden, then successfully pushed to pass the “Fiscal Responsibility Act,” suspending the debt ceiling until 2025 in exchange for spending cuts.
The House is scheduled this week to consider Republican-led bills that were delayed by the mini-revolt, including that would protect gas stoves from potential government bans. It has been a pet issue for Republicans for months, asserting that any such bans would be government overreach.
Lawmakers will also consider a bill that would repeal a federal firearms ban on pistol braces, which had also been pulled last week.
It was not clear as of Monday whether the conservatives would continue to use parliamentary procedures to stymie legislation. McCarthy on Sunday said he hopes to “get back on the right track” this week.
Rep. Tom Emmer of Indiana, the #3 Republican in the House, said in an interview, “We’ll be back. We’ll be voting.”
