Nearly a dozen House conservatives continued to obstruct Republican leadership efforts to pass a series of measures on Wednesday as a means of expressing their displeasure with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for the debt ceiling agreement he reached with President Joe Biden.
They swore to “hold the floor” and continue to obstruct legislative initiatives, at least for the time being, after McCarthy allegedly violated promises made to them in exchange for their support of his speakership in January, when he received an unprecedented 15 votes.
“Twelve Republicans joined 208 Democrats to reject a procedural vote on House Resolution 463, centered on prohibiting the federal government from banning gas stoves,” Newsweek reported. “Most of the Republicans who voted against the bill identify as members of the House Freedom Caucus, many outwardly saying afterward that their votes were rebukes of House leadership.”
The publication continued:
A successful procedural vote would have led to deliberation for House Resolutions 1640 and 1615. Resolution 1640, or the “Save Our Gas Stoves Act,” would prohibit the Department of Energy from finalizing energy efficiency rules for gas stoves. Resolution 1615, known as the “Gas Stove Freedom and Protection Act,” would disallow the Consumer Product Safety Commission from banning gas stoves as a hazardous product, or issuing or enforcing a product safety standard that prohibits the use or sale of gas stoves or substantially increases their price.
Andy Biggs of Arizona, North Carolina’s Dan Bishop, Colorado’s Lauren Boebert, Colorado’s Ken Buck, Tennessee’s Tim Burchett, Eli Crane of Arizona, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Virginia’s Bob Good, South Carolina’s Ralph Norman, Montana’s Matt Rosendale, Texas’ Chip Roy, and Louisiana’s Steve Scalise voted against the resolution.
“House Leadership couldn’t Hold the Line,” tweeted Gaetz. “Now we Hold the Floor.”
In addition, the Florida Republican defended Clyde, who, according to ABC News, told reporters on Tuesday that if he voted against the debt deal, House leaders would not allow one of his sponsored bills to proceed forward.
“We’re not going to live in the era of the imperial speaker anymore,” Gaetz said on Tuesday after rejecting the gas stove bill. “We’re not going to live in an era where our members are punished like this.”
Boebert also tweeted: “HOLD THE FLOOR.”
HOLD THE FLOOR! https://t.co/eCbmjYron9
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) June 7, 2023
“Conservative patriots took a stand today for America,” Buck wrote on Twitter, claiming that he and other conservatives were lied to by leadership. “We demanded that @SpeakerMcCarthy keep his word about spending limits and keep our Party unified.”
“When Kevin McCarthy became Speaker, he promised to keep spending at 2022 levels,” Buck added. “He broke that commitment with the Biden-backed debt ceiling ‘deal.’ How can he govern if House Republicans can’t trust him to honor his word? How are we supposed to stay unified?”
More on this story via Conservative Brief:
Biggs noted: “We’re unsure if Mr. McCarthy, the Speaker, is going to continue that coalition with the Democrats, or if he’s going to try to rebuild the unity that we had seen so much in the Republican Party over the last few months.” CONTINUE READING…
