GOP hard-liners threaten rebellion over stopgap funding bill

A small group of conservatives in the House of Representatives is threatening to vote against a procedural rule and stymie much of the GOP agenda for the week to protest a Senate-passed government funding bill the lower chamber is set to take up Tuesday.

The hard-liners likely can’t block the funding bill itself, which is known as a continuing resolution (CR) and would keep the government open through Dec. 11. The CR will come to the floor “under suspension,” meaning it doesn’t require a rule vote but will need a two-thirds majority to pass.

But the detractors could effectively freeze the floor and stall Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) from getting anything else done on the floor by tanking the rule, which would prevent other bills leadership wants passed from coming up for a vote.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) told reporters Monday night he’s voting no on the rule in an attempt to freeze the floor from other legislation.

He said he takes issue with several provisions in the Senate-passed CR, including its short-term delay on a ban on certain hemp products. He wants a “clean” continuing resolution or a chance to add his own priorities, like reupping a ban on federal funds going to Planned Parenthood that lapsed in the summer.

“All of this could’ve been handled either by putting it in the rule and allowing some amendments or just doing a clean CR, they didn’t do that,” Roy said of the Senate. “So I’ve got major problems with that.”

Roy sent a letter Monday to Reps. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), who chair the relevant committees on the CR, laying out his concerns.

Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), chair of the House Freedom Caucus, also indicated he was against the rule as of Tuesday morning, citing concerns about the hemp ban delay. Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), who is not usually one to defy leadership, also said Tuesday he would vote no.

Other Republicans have also voiced concerns about a provision in the Senate-passed CR that would delay a rule giving White House political appointees greater authority over whether to disburse federal grants.

Johnson can afford to lose just three Republicans on the rule vote, assuming every member is present and voting. But campaign season is in full swing, and dozens of lawmakers missed Monday night’s vote, which means attendance issues could create another complication.

Cole told reporters Tuesday morning he had not yet received Roy’s letter and said while he is “sympathetic” with Harris’s concerns about the hemp ban, it’s not worth risking a government shutdown before the midterm elections by changing or failing to pass the CR.

“This should not have been on here, CR should not be controversial, so I’m sympathetic with that,” Cole said.

He criticized the use of the rule as leverage, since traditionally, members are expected to vote with their party on the rule, regardless of how they plan to vote on the legislation itself.

“A lot of this is we’ve got a group that wants to leverage the procedural votes to extract things that the majority of us probably don’t want to do. I find that disappointing,” Cole said. “I mean, if you’re going to be a member of the Republican conference, you ought to be able to vote for the rule. It’s just that simple, and you shouldn’t use it to leverage things against your own team. You want to vote against the bill? That’s perfectly fine, and that’s true in any bill. Your final vote on the bill is up to you, but blackmailing your colleagues is not the way to build an effective team.”

Cole said he still expected solid support for the CR because he also anticipated that some Democrats would vote for it.

Others in the Freedom Caucus indicated they would support the rule. Rep. Ben Cline (R-Va.) told The Hill on Tuesday he generally supports rules and would vote for this one. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) said he was “leaning toward voting for it” but would talk more with his colleagues first.