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Nearly a dozen House conservatives on Wednesday continued to disrupt Republican leadership efforts to push through a series of bills as a way of taking their anger out on Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) over the debt ceiling deal he struck with President Joe Biden.
They vowed to “hold the floor” and continue to block legislative efforts, at least for the time being, after claiming that McCarthy broke pledges to them in exchange for their support of his speakership following an unprecedented 15 votes in January.
“Twelve Republicans joined 208 Democrats to reject a procedural vote on House Resolution 463, centered on prohibiting the federal government from banning gas stoves,” Newsweek reported. “Most of the Republicans who voted against the bill identify as members of the House Freedom Caucus, many outwardly saying afterward that their votes were rebukes of House leadership.”
The outlet continued:
A successful procedural vote would have led to deliberation for 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 Stove Freedom and Protection Act,” would disallow the Consumer Product Safety Commission from banning gas stoves as a hazardous product, or issuing or enforcing a product safety standard that prohibits the use or sale of gas stoves or substantially increases their price.
The Republicans who voted against the resolution were Arizona’s Andy Biggs, North Carolina’s Dan Bishop, Colorado’s Lauren Boebert, Colorado’s Ken Buck, Tennessee’s Tim Burchett, Arizona’s Eli Crane, Florida’s Matt Gaetz, Virginia’s Bob Good, South Carolina’s Ralph Norman, Montana’s Matt Rosendale, Texas’ Chip Roy and Louisiana’s Steve Scalise.
“House Leadership couldn’t Hold the Line,” tweeted Gaetz. “Now we Hold the Floor.”
In addition, the Florida Republican defended Clyde who, according to ABC News, told reporters Tuesday that House leaders said they would not allow one of his sponsored bills to move forward if he voted against the debt deal.
“We’re not going to live in the era of the imperial speaker anymore,” Gaetz said on Tuesday after rejecting the gas stove bill. “We’re not going to live in an era where our members are punished like this.”
Boebert also tweeted: “HOLD THE FLOOR.”
HOLD THE FLOOR! https://t.co/eCbmjYron9
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) June 7, 2023
“Conservative patriots took a stand today for America,” Buck wrote on Twitter, claiming that he and other conservatives were lied to by leadership. “We demanded that @SpeakerMcCarthy keep his word about spending limits and keep our Party unified.”
“When Kevin McCarthy became Speaker, he promised to keep spending at 2022 levels,” Buck added. “He broke that commitment with the Biden-backed debt ceiling ‘deal.’ How can he govern if House Republicans can’t trust him to honor his word? How are we supposed to stay unified?”
Biggs noted: “We’re unsure if Mr. McCarthy, the Speaker, is going to continue that coalition with the Democrats, or if he’s going to try to rebuild the unity that we had seen so much in the Republican Party over the last few months.”
Patricia Crouse, a political science practitioner in residence at the University of New Haven, said Tuesday’s vote highlights the growing tensions within House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s caucus. She told Newsweek that the Freedom Caucus’s actions suggest that the deal McCarthy made with Biden and Democrats has ignited these tensions, particularly in the case of a seemingly “slam dunk” vote on gas stoves that conservatives have staunchly supported.
“This is a clear indication that there is a portion of his party that is not simply going to ‘let it go’ that he negotiated the debt ceiling bill with Biden and the Democratic Party,” Crouse said.
“Rather than viewing it as a win for both Congress and the American people (that Congress finally compromised on something and showed bipartisanship), they see it as sellout,” she added.
