With a government shutdown looming at the end of the month, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is struggling with party hardliners from the House Freedom Caucus.
The Washington Post reports that Wednesday House Republicans failed to move forward with a procedural vote on a Defense Department funding bill – pushing it off to a later date. McCarthy failed to give a top-line number of how much all 12 appropriation bills will cost once passed.
Basically, McCarthy is in a tough spot. He needs to appease conservative demands for spending cuts while trying to pass bills that can be reconciled with the Democrat-led Senate. Freedom Caucus member Chip Roy (R-Texas) says he’s willing to negotiate but isn’t willing go along with past levels of spending.
McCarthy is currently trying to group together a number of key funding bills in hopes of giving the party members something on which they can all agree.
As explained by The Hill, the plan would package funding for “military construction and Veterans Affairs, the Pentagon, and DHS along with disaster relief.” Freedom Caucus members say they are reviewing the plan.