{"id":2036940,"date":"2023-09-19T07:22:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-19T11:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mccarthy-struggles-to-find-leverage-in-spending-fight-with-senate\/"},"modified":"2023-09-19T07:25:15","modified_gmt":"2023-09-19T11:25:15","slug":"mccarthy-struggles-to-find-leverage-in-spending-fight-with-senate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mccarthy-struggles-to-find-leverage-in-spending-fight-with-senate\/","title":{"rendered":"McCarthy&#8217;s struggle to gain leverage in Senate spending dispute."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmccarthy-struggles-to-find-leverage-in-spending-fight-with-senate%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2036940&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>The Willingness of House Conservatives to \u200bGrind\u2063 the Appropriations Process<\/h2>\n<p>The willingness of House conservatives to grind the appropriations process to \u2063a \u2062halt is denying Speaker Kevin \u2063McCarthy (R-CA) leverage in a\u2064 spending fight with\u200b the\u2063 Senate\u2064 that will\u2063 soon \u200dcome to a head.<\/p>\n<h3>The House \u2062Republicans Who\u200d Have Pledged \u2064to\u2063 Vote No on Stopgap Spending Measure<\/h3>\n<p>The California \u200cRepublican set\u200d the House on a\u2063 collision \u2062course\u2063 with Democrats in\u2064 June \u2064when he agreed to draft \u200bspending bills $120 billion below the\u200b levels he\u2064 brokered in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-passes-defense-bill-moves-to-lift-debt-ceiling-after-bipartisan-agreement\/\" title=\"House Passes Defense Bill, Moves To Lift Debt Ceiling After Bipartisan Agreement\">debt ceiling agreement<\/a>\u2064 with President Joe \u2064Biden.<\/p>\n<p>The\u200d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mccarthy-struggles-to-find-leverage-in-spending-fight-with-senate\/\" title=\"McCarthy's struggle to gain leverage in Senate spending dispute.\">concession temporarily placated conservatives<\/a>, who felt betrayed by the modest deal he struck with the president. Yet three months later, that very distrust has left McCarthy unable to negotiate \u200bfrom a position of strength.<\/p>\n<p>The\u2064 House has passed just one of its \u2062dozen\u2062 appropriations bills with just 12 days until a government\u200c shutdown \u2062on \u200cOct.\u200b 1. McCarthy succeeded in moving a bill for \u2062military \u2062construction and veterans benefits before the August recess but \u200dhas since\u2064 had to scrap plans to vote on two others.<\/p>\n<p>House conservatives,\u2063 who can deny McCarthy the votes he \u200cneeds due\u2063 to the GOP&#8217;s four-seat majority, want assurances that\u2062 he will stick to his pledge to \u200d<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senate-presses-forward-with-appropriations-bills-as-house-conservatives-make-demands\/\" title=\"Senate moves ahead with appropriations bills despite House conservatives' demands.\">pursue deep spending cuts<\/a>, and they&#8217;ve made demands of\u2063 him on \u2063everything from border security to ending the &#8220;weaponization&#8221; of the Justice Department.<\/p>\n<p>Passing the\u200d spending bills is \u200djust\u2063 the opening\u200b offer on what will need to be \u200da bipartisan compromise.\u200d Democrats,\u2062 who control the \u2062White \u200bHouse and\u200d Senate, will inevitably reject \u2064the very \u2062demands hard-liners are forcing McCarthy to accept.<\/p>\n<p>Yet if McCarthy can shore up \u200bhis negotiating position by passing\u2062 even\u2064 some of the appropriations bills through the House, he has a shot at extracting concessions, however incremental, beyond what \u200bRepublicans got in the \u2063debt ceiling \u200bagreement.<\/p>\n<p>He&#8217;s proposed \u200ba one-month funding extension\u2062 to \u2064buy lawmakers more time\u200c to\u2064 get there,\u200d but even that ask has been met with resistance from McCarthy&#8217;s right flank, who\u2063 see \u200dthe stopgap bill as \u2063another opportunity to insist on \u200da \u200dlaundry list of demands.<\/p>\n<p>That has\u2064 left\u2064 him weak\u200d in the face of \u200ba Senate that is largely united in its desire for more, not less, \u2063federal \u200dspending. \u2064The upper chamber has struggled to bring its own appropriations bills to\u2063 the floor since\u200c it returned from recess\u2062 \u2014 a handful of conservatives \u200care throwing up \u200bobstacles in that chamber\u2063 too \u2014 yet Democrats have \u200ban advantage McCarthy does not: the\u200d support of Senate Republican leadership, who want to keep\u200b federal spending at the levels negotiated in the debt limit agreement.<\/p>\n<p>A \u2062separate emergency supplemental that would\u2062 add another $24 billion in Ukraine \u2062aid,\u2063 a nonstarter for many House conservatives, has \u2063reinforced bipartisan cooperation in the\u2062 Senate.<\/p>\n<p>The predicament is \u2063something of a reversal \u200dfrom the spring, when Senate \u2063Republicans lined up \u2064behind McCarthy as \u2064he negotiated the debt ceiling agreement with Biden, a\u2064 deal only possible because the speaker \u200bdemonstrated \u2064he could usher a conservative bill to \u2064raise\u2062 the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-push-to-eliminate-debt-ceiling\/\" title=\"Democrats Push to Eliminate Debt Ceiling\">federal borrowing limit<\/a> through \u200dthe House.<\/p>\n<p>He walked away with far \u2062less \u2014 committing to, in effect,\u200d a two-year freeze in federal spending \u2014 leading House conservatives to accuse him of violating the agreement he made in January to win the speaker&#8217;s gavel.<\/p>\n<p>McCarthy, facing hard-liners now openly toying \u200bwith the idea \u2062of deposing him, \u200bhas alternated between frustration and\u200c the\u2063 self-assured demeanor of a \u200bman who has survived \u2062the obstinance \u200dof his right flank \u2064before.<\/p>\n<p>Conservatives aren&#8217;t just withholding their votes on must-pass legislation \u2014 they&#8217;re doing so content to let Washington slip into a government shutdown, judging that the political cost is worth it if it helps\u200b Republicans\u2064 reset federal spending in Washington.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, \u2062McCarthy fundamentally disagrees with that \u200ccalculus. He argues\u200c to conservatives they\u2063 are shooting\u200b themselves in the foot if they don&#8217;t give him space\u2062 to\u2064 pass the funding bills\u200b and are signaling\u200d that Republicans \u2062are\u200b closer to capitulation than \u200cvictory.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If you&#8217;re\u2062 not willing to pass appropriations bills and you&#8217;re not willing to \u200dpass a\u2062 continuing resolution that will allow\u2064 you to\u200d pass the rest of the appropriation bills and you\u200c don&#8217;t want an omnibus, I don&#8217;t\u200c quite\u2063 know what you want,&#8221; he said of the hard-liners \u2064in his\u2062 conference on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s entirely possible Republicans will still\u200b coalesce around a short-term bill to keep the government open. \u2064The conservative \u2062Freedom Caucus reached a deal with McCarthy\u2064 allies on Sunday to extend funding for a month \u2062in exchange \u200bfor an 8% cut in federal spending and\u2062 border security measures.<\/p>\n<p>But\u2064 more than\u200d a dozen conservatives have already \u200dcome out against \u2063the deal.<\/p>\n<p>McCarthy has begun\u200d to take a more aggressive approach to \u200dovercome their opposition. He&#8217;s \u2062teed up a Wednesday vote on\u200d a Pentagon appropriations bill after canceling it last week, in effect daring conservatives\u2063 to\u2062 oppose funding for\u200d the military. The move comes after he defiantly brushed \u200coff threats of a no-confidence vote \u2062by \u2064members of his conference.<\/p>\n<p>Even if McCarthy is\u2062 successful in jump-starting the \u200bappropriations process, \u200dhis opening bid, whether for a stopgap or the\u2064 set of 12 appropriations bills, will\u2062 be a nonstarter\u2064 for Democrats, who point out that their spending bills passed out of the Appropriations \u2062Committee with overwhelming bipartisan support.<\/p>\n<p>With the House \u200cin disarray\u200c \u2014 sniping within the conference on Monday\u200c reached levels not seen since \u200cthe \u2064speakership election in January \u2014\u200d Republicans may be forced\u200d to \u2064buckle \u2064under \u2063the weight of blame assigned to them in past shutdown fights.<\/p>\n<p>CLICK HERE TO READ\u200c MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON \u200cEXAMINER<\/p>\n<p>For now, Senate Republicans are looking\u200b on \u200cin\u2064 horror.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The House is a raucous, partisan body by design \u2063of our founders. I don&#8217;t think they intended\u2064 it to\u2064 be\u200d dysfunctional,&#8221; Sen. Kevin Cramer \u2062(R-ND) told the Washington\u200c Examiner. &#8220;When \u2062process\u2062 turns to chaos, you don&#8217;t \u200chave good outcomes.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> \u200cHow are House conservatives using the appropriations process to push for their agenda?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Riations, you don&#8217;t get\u2062 a seat at the table for the negotiations,&#8221; McCarthy told a \u200dgroup of House conservatives in a private meeting last week, according to\u2064 a person in the room. &#8220;You don&#8217;t get a vote on the final product.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>But for conservatives, it&#8217;s not just about the appropriations process \u2014 it&#8217;s about reshaping the Republican Party&#8217;s identity and \u2064priorities. The appropriations bills provide an opportunity for them to push for their agenda, even if they \u200bknow it&#8217;s unlikely \u200bto become law.<\/p>\n<p>They see the upcoming funding fight as\u2063 a chance to demonstrate their commitment to fiscal conservatism, to show their base that\u2063 they are willing to \u200bfight for limited government and reduced spending.<\/p>\n<p>And they&#8217;re willing to use any means necessary to achieve their goals, even if it means grinding the appropriations process to a halt and\u2064 risking \u2062a government shutdown.<\/p>\n<p>This willingness to disrupt the normal functioning of government\u200b is not new for House conservatives. They&#8217;ve done it\u2063 before, most notably \u2064in \u200b2013 when they\u200c forced a government shutdown in an attempt to \u200cdefund Obamacare.<\/p>\n<p>That shutdown was widely seen as a political disaster for Republicans, but it didn&#8217;t deter conservatives from using similar tactics in \u2062the years since. \u200cIn fact, it has become a common strategy for them to leverage their power within the House to push for their agenda, even if it means risking political backlash.<\/p>\n<p>But this time, the stakes are even higher. With Democrats in control of the White \u200bHouse and Senate, House Republicans have less \u200cleverage than ever before. And without McCarthy able to corral his own\u2062 caucus, \u200dit&#8217;s unclear how \u2063Republicans will be able to influence the final spending bills.<\/p>\n<p>The upcoming funding \u200bfight is just \u2064the latest example of\u2063 the deep\u2064 divisions within the Republican Party. It&#8217;s a battle between the \u200destablishment and the insurgents, between pragmatism and idealism, between compromising and\u2062 standing on principle.<\/p>\n<p>And it&#8217;s a battle that will have real consequences. If Republicans can&#8217;t come together and pass the necessary funding bills, the \u2062government will shut down, causing chaos and disruption for millions of Americans.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s time for House conservatives\u200b to think carefully about their strategy. Is grinding the appropriations process to\u200d a\u200d halt worth the potential damage to \u2063their party and the country?<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s a time for principled stands and there&#8217;s a\u2064 time for pragmatism. This funding fight is not the time to prioritize ideology over governing.<\/p>\n<p>House conservatives need to recognize that they have a responsibility to their constituents\u200b and\u200c to \u2062the\u200d American people. They were elected to govern, not to disrupt.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s time for them to put aside their differences and work with their colleagues to pass the necessary funding bills. It&#8217;s time for \u2063them to \u200bshow that\u200b they can be \u200dresponsible leaders,\u200b capable\u200b of finding common ground and getting things\u200b done.<\/p>\n<p>If they&#8217;re unable to do so, they risk further alienating themselves \u200bfrom their own party and from\u2063 the American people. And\u200d they risk losing the opportunity to shape the\u2062 future of the Republican Party and the\u200b country.<\/p>\n<p>Grinding the \u200cappropriations process \u2062to a halt may be a tactical victory for House conservatives, but it&#8217;s\u200c a strategic mistake. It&#8217;s \u200ctime for them to reconsider their approach and start working towards real solutions for\u200b the\u2062 American people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>House conservatives&#8217; refusal to cooperate with the appropriations process is undermining Speaker Kevin McCarthy&#8217;s bargaining power in an upcoming spending battle with the Senate. McCarthy, a Republican from California, initiated a clash with Democrats in June by taking charge of drafting spending bills in the House.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2036941,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2036940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2036940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2036940"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2036940\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2036941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2036940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2036940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2036940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}