The hard-right House Freedom Caucus will oppose the stopgap funding measure needed to avert a partial government shutdown next month unless it includes conservatives' policy priorities relating to overall spending levels, the border, the Justice Department and the military, reports Roll Call. The caucus’ position announced Monday highlights the obstacles that Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) faces next month with just a dozen legislative days after lawmakers return to Washington until the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. Any controversial add-ons risk losing support from almost all Democrats and even some GOP moderates; if all Democrats are present and vote "no," McCarthy won't be able to lose more than four votes on his side.
The group vowed to oppose any spending bill that does not include the House-passed immigration and border security bill; does not “address the unprecedented weaponization of the Justice Department and FBI” that the group says has targeted political opponents; and “end the Left’s cancerous woke policies in the Pentagon.” It was not immediately clear exactly what cuts the caucus seeks in the DOJ budget. The border bill passed on a 219-213 vote, with two Republicans voting against it — California’s John Duarte and Kentucky’s Thomas Massie. Massie and Duarte each opposed the legislation over language that would require all employers to verify electronically that new hires can work legally in the U.S.
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