The House Freedom Caucus is formally coming out against Speaker Mike Johnson’s government funding bill, hours ahead of an expected vote on Tuesday.
The roughly 40-member group, in a statement obtained by POLITICO, noted that the two-step spending bill doesn’t include spending cuts, border security or “a single meaningful win for the American People.”
“Republicans must stop negotiating against ourselves over fears of what the Senate may do with the promise ‘roll over today and we’ll fight tomorrow,’” they added.
Taking an official position requires the support of 80 percent of Freedom Caucus membership — a threshold that they’ve occasionally struggled to hit this year in key debates because of divisions within the group under a GOP majority.
And it underscores that while approximately eight Republicans had come out against Speaker Mike Johnson’s government funding plan, there is a larger pool of “no” votes.
House GOP leadership announced on Monday night that they would try to leapfrog that opposition by leaning on Democrats to help pass the bill with four days to go until a government shutdown.
It’s the same strategy that led to former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s ouster last month. While most of the Freedom Caucus voted against ousting McCarthy, five of the eight Republicans who supported it are members of the group.
Johnson, who met with the Freedom Caucus on Monday night, isn’t expected to meet the same fate. The group added on Tuesday that they “remain committed to working with Speaker Johnson”
“[But] we need bold change.”
