Most of the House Republicans who voted against Kevin McCarthy’s stopgap spending bill on Friday have been a thorn in his side since before he was elected speaker. They tend to cluster ideologically at the extreme right end of the political spectrum.
Mr. Three-quarters of the 21 Republicans who voted against McCarthy’s temporary spending bill were supported by the campaign arm of the House Freedom Caucus during the 2022 midterms. Six members of the group are serving in Congress for the first time.
Eleven opposed McCarthy’s bid for Speaker
In January, 20 Republicans voted repeatedly against Mr. 11 of them were among those who protested against his stopgap funding measure on Friday.
Mr. for Speaker. McCarthy’s five-day, 15-vote campaign foreshadowed how difficult it would be for him to rally Republican lawmakers behind basic tasks like passing finance bills or raising the federal debt limit.
Notably, Representatives Wesley Hunt of Texas and Ken Buck of Colorado urged Mr. They came back to Washington at McCarthy’s request. And Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green of Georgia, during the speaker’s fight with Mr. Aligned himself with McCarthy and was kicked out of the Freedom Caucus that summer.
Eighteen voted against suspending the debt ceiling
Those predictions came to fruition last spring, when the U.S. moved toward a deadline to raise the government’s debt ceiling or face default.
Along with far-right members of his caucus in agitating to suspend the debt ceiling, Mr. McCarthy was forced to negotiate with President Biden, further infuriating an already volatile division.
About a third of the Republican House caucus opposes the debt deal, with 18 of the 21 members blocking a temporary measure this week to fund the government. (Ms. Greene of Texas and Rep. Troy Nehls voted in favor of raising the debt ceiling, while Rep. Lauren Bobert of Colorado abstained.) In another blow to McCarthy, the bipartisan measure passed with more Democrats than Republicans.
Eight brought the House to a standstill in June
The next week, about a dozen protesters shut down the House by rejecting the procedural step of setting the rules for legislative debate, usually a simple party-line vote. To suspend the credit limit, Mr. For making a deal with Mr. Biden. They did so to punish McCarthy. The panel also included eight members who refused to support the interim measure to keep the government running.