MAGA Republicans Have Three Words for Kevin McCarthy

Several House Freedom Caucus members are pushing to "hold the floor" in response to what they deem as failed negotiations by Speaker Kevin McCarthy that resulted in a less-than-celebrated debt agreement with Democrats, taking their anger out on newly proposed legislation.

Twelve Republicans joined 208 Democrats to reject a procedural vote on House Resolution 463, centered on prohibiting the federal government from banning gas stoves. 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.

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.

The Republicans who voted against the resolution were Arizona's Andy Biggs, North Carolina's Dan Bishop, Colorado's Lauren Boebert, Colorado's Ken Buck, Tennessee's Tim Burchett, Arizona's Eli Crane, Florida's Matt Gaetz, Virginia's Bob Good, South Carolina's Ralph Norman, Montana's Matt Rosendale, Texas' Chip Roy and Louisiana's Steve Scalise. The majority leader changed his vote to allow for a future rule vote to reoccur.

"House Leadership couldn't Hold the Line," Gaetz tweeted. "Now we Hold the Floor."

Gaetz defended his colleague, Clyde, who according to ABC News told reporters Tuesday that House leadership threatened not to put forward one of his sponsored bills if he voted against the debt deal.

"We're not going to live in the era of the imperial speaker anymore," Gaetz said yesterday after voting against the gas stove legislation. "We're not going to live in an era where our members are punished like this."

Roy has referred to the debt deal as a "swamp deal."

"Conservative patriots took a stand today for America," Buck tweeted, saying he and other members 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 tweeted. "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?"

Biggs proudly stated that he and House Freedom Caucus members, of which there are at least 53 members in the current 118th Congress, "turned up the heat" on GOP leadership following what he claimed was extortion on behalf of McCarthy and others regarding that debt vote.

"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," Biggs said Tuesday.

Patricia Crouse, a political science practitioner in residence at the University of New Haven, told Newsweek that Tuesday's vote is evidence that McCarthy's deal with President Joe Biden and Democrats enflamed tensions in his own caucus—especially for what should have been a "slam dunk" of a vote on gas stoves, which conservatives have adamantly defended.

"This is a clear indication that there is a portion of his party that is not simply going to 'let it go' that he negotiated the debt ceiling bill with Biden and the Democratic Party," Crouse said. "Rather than viewing it as a win for both Congress and the American people (that Congress finally compromised on something and showed bipartisanship), they see it as sellout."

The long-term question, she said, is how effective McCarthy can be now that so-called receipts are now coming due.