With no clear path to avoid a shutdown, House Republicans’ internal tensions spew into the public

With no clear path on how to fund the government past Sept. 30, members of the House Republican Conference are publicly fighting among themselves over a bill to keep the government funded that, even if it were to pass the House, likely wouldn’t become law.

While tensions have been high all session, the conference is dealing with some of its most public feuding now as members try to come to an agreement on a continuing resolution. Negotiators from the House Freedom Caucus and Republican Main Street Caucus agreed on a continuing resolution on Sunday that would include the House’s border security bill, cut spending, and keep the government funded through October.

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But, almost instantly, hard-line conservative members started voicing their opposition to the bill despite it having many priorities conservatives had called for. By the end of the day Monday, the number of holdouts was at least 16.

Even if the bill were to get through the House, it would have no chance of making it through the Democrat-controlled Senate or being signed into law by President Joe Biden. But, it shows how House Republicans are struggling to agree even among themselves when it comes to passing a bill to keep the government funded.

The government will shut down if Congress doesn’t pass all 12 appropriations bills or a continuing resolution by Sept. 30. And as everything leadership does to try and please the holdouts continues to fail, other members of the conference who want to avoid a shutdown are getting fed up.

“I didn’t make up the quote, but I love it. You know, ‘Some people vote against the Bible because there’s not enough Jesus in it.’ And I think that’s what we see here. Some people can’t get to yes,” centrist Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), who represents a vulnerable district, said about those holding up the continuing resolution.

The fighting began on social media when outgoing Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN) took to X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, to criticize House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as a “weak Speaker,” as she expressed her opposition to the negotiated continuing resolution.

McCarthy responded in kind by taking a jab at her pending retirement at the end of her term.

“Anybody who criticizes you has never worked harder than you. And I mean, if Victoria is concerned about fighting stronger, I wish she would’ve run again and not quit,” McCarthy told reporters. “I mean, I’m not quitting, I’m gonna continue to work for the American public.”

This then prompted Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who has led the charge against the continuing resolution, to come to Spartz’s defense criticizing McCarthy for “attacking a woman.”

“This quote from [Speaker McCarthy] is disgraceful,” Gaetz posted on X. “Rep. Spartz is retiring after honorable service because her family needs her and she values the most important institution in American life. Kevin attacking a woman for putting her family above ambition & power is truly a new low. Kevin would never understand subjugating ambition for anything, or anyone.”

Gaetz has also publicly fought on social media with his fellow Floridian, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), who helped negotiate the continuing resolution.

On X, Gaetz criticized the deal, calling it the “the Donalds CR” and said that it “gets the job done for Jack Smith!” referencing the special counsel investigating former President Donald Trump.

Donalds fired back at Gaetz, saying in a post on X, “You’ll need more than tweets and hot takes!!”

The feud continued, with Gaetz saying, “It is so painful watching someone I admire so much author a continuing resolution to fund the government agencies I loathe.” He also took to the House floor to criticize his fellow Florida representative and the continuing resolution some more.

Gaetz’s rhetoric around the bill and his public fighting with fellow House Republicans angered some members, especially his more centrist colleagues.

“He’s a special person. It is what it is,” centrist Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) said of Gaetz. “I mean, in his how many years here, what has he ever accomplished other than running his mouth?”

But, the intraparty fighting doesn’t bring the House any closer to agreeing on a continuing resolution among themselves, let alone with the Democrat-controlled Senate before Sept. 30.

McCarthy’s top lieutenant, Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA), said the holdouts have two choices: “the conservative” option, which he says is the bill the House has already put forward that includes border security and spending cuts, and “the liberal” option, which would be to allow the government to shut down and then have the Senate to “jam” them with a clean continuing resolution.

“Everybody’s vote is equal, I think that’s great,” Graves said. “I think that what needs to happen here is that we need to focus on the most conservative option that’s ahead of us, and I’ve made clear what I think that is.”

And, while McCarthy has expressed optimism about passing a conservative continuing resolution, some in his conference aren’t sure there’s a plausible way forward.

“I don’t know what to think anymore,” said Rep. Steve Womack (R-AR), a veteran appropriator. “Because, on one hand, you’d like to get all your 12 bills. On the other hand, you know you don’t have time, so you need a CR. And then our own caucus is shooting that down. So, we’re not real sure what the path is right now. I don’t know the path. I don’t see the path.”

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Another GOP member offered a similar sentiment, saying that “nobody has a path forward now,” but added that they don’t know how the speaker can get out of this besides throwing others under the bus if the continuing resolution fails on the floor — which they think it inevitably will.

“If this goes down this week, you can bet McCarthy is going to be talking to you all immediately after saying, ‘I told them it wouldn’t work,’” the member said regarding the negotiated continuing resolution plan.