Several members of the House Freedom Caucus are pushing to “keep the word” in response to what they see as President Kevin McCarthy’s failed negotiations that resulted in a less than concluded debt deal with Democrats, venting their anger at proposed new legislation.
Twelve Republicans joined 208 Democrats in rejecting a procedural vote on House Resolution 463, focused on prohibiting the federal government from banning gas stoves. Most of the Republicans who voted against the bill identify themselves as members of the House Freedom Caucus, and many later said their votes were reproaches to House leadership.
A successful procedural vote would have led to the deliberation of House Resolutions 1640 and 1615. Resolution 1640, or the “Save Our Gas Stoves Act,” would prohibit the Department of Energy from finalizing energy efficiency rules for gas stoves . Resolution 1615, known as the “Gas Range Freedom and Protection Act,” would prohibit the Consumer Product Safety Commission from banning gas ranges as a dangerous product, or from issuing or enforcing a product safety standard that prohibit the use or sale of gas stoves or substantially increase their price.
The Republicans who voted against the resolution included Andy Biggs of Arizona, Dan Bishop of North Carolina, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Ken Buck of Colorado, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Eli Crane of Arizona, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Bob Good of Virginia, Ralph Norman from South Carolina, Matt Rosendale from Montana, Chip Roy from Texas and Steve Scalise from Louisiana. The Majority Leader changed his vote to allow him to vote again in the future.
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“The leadership of the house could not hold the line”, Gaetz tweeted. “Now we keep the floor.”
Gaetz defended his colleague, Clyde, who, according to ABC News, told reporters Tuesday that House leaders threatened to not introduce one of his sponsored bills if he voted against the debt deal.
“We are no longer going to live in the age of the imperial orator,” Gaetz said yesterday after voting against the gas stove legislation. “We are not going to live in an era where our members are punished like this.”
Roy has referred to the debt deal as a “swampy deal.”
“Conservative Patriots took a stand for America today,” Buck tweeted, saying leadership lied to him and other members. “We demand @SpeakerMcCarthy keep his word on spending limits and keep our Party unified.”
“When Kevin McCarthy became president, he promised to keep spending at 2022 levels,” Buck tweeted. “He broke that commitment with the Biden-backed debt ceiling ‘deal’. How can he govern if House Republicans can’t trust him to keep his word? How are we supposed to stick together?
Biggs proudly stated that he and members of the House Freedom Caucus, of which there are at least 53 members in the current 118th Congress, “turned up the heat” on the GOP leadership following what he claimed was a extortion on behalf of McCarthy and others in connection with that debt vote. .
“We are not sure if Mr. McCarthy, the Speaker of the House, will continue that coalition with the Democrats or if he will try to rebuild the unity that we have seen so much in the Republican Party in recent months.” Biggs said Tuesday.
Patricia Crouse, a resident political science practitioner at the University of New Haven, said news week that Tuesday’s vote is evidence that McCarthy’s deal with President Joe Biden and the Democrats inflamed tensions in his own caucus, especially over what should have been a “slam dunk” vote on gas stoves, which the Conservatives have staunchly defended.
“This is a clear indication that there is a part of your party that is just not going to ‘let it go’ because you negotiated the debt ceiling bill with Biden and the Democratic Party,” Crouse said. “Instead of seeing it as a victory for both Congress and the American people (that Congress finally compromised on something and showing bipartisanship), they see it as a betrayal.”
The long-term question, he said, is how effective McCarthy can be now that the so-called receipts are coming due.