House Republicans will try again on votes to advance legislation Wednesday after conservatives blocked bills from reaching the floor in a protest over House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
McCarthy cut a deal with President Joe Biden and Democrats over raising the debt ceiling, which House conservatives believe was in violation of parameters of the deals McCarthy made to secure his speakership.
The House Freedom Caucus and allies like Reps. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and Chip Roy, R-Texas, are among the 11 holdouts on the House rules for four bills Tuesday, Newsmax congressional correspondent Kilmeny Duchardt reported Wednesday morning.
A senior congressional aide told Duchardt there are still discussions about initiating the motion to vacate McCarthy if the standoff remains unresolved.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., scheduled a vote to advance the rules on four bills related to gas stoves and regulatory reform, The Hill reported.
"I don't know, we'll find out," House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., told The Hill about the impasse.
Gaetz, one of the last remaining holdouts through 15 rounds of voting for McCarthy's speakership in January, is again leading the stand against GOP leadership.
"House leadership couldn't hold the line," Gaetz tweeted Wednesday morning. "Now we hold the floor."
McCarthy has a difficult needle to thread with just a 222-213 GOP House majority over Democrats.
"Hold the floor!" Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., who has sat beside Gaetz on holding out against McCarthy, tweeted in reply to him.
Tuesday's conservative block marked the first time since 2002 a rule vote failed on the House floor.
Part of the rift is reportedly tied to Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., alleging he was threatened by GOP leadership that his bill to repeal a federal rule banning pistol braces would not get Republican support if he did not side with McCarthy on the debt-ceiling compromise, Duchardt reported.
Scalise joined the GOP holdouts Tuesday only due to a procedural move, so he can help bring the rules back to a House floor vote Wednesday.
"There's still some conversations to have," Roy told reporters Tuesday night. "We had a breakdown in the process last week, we think we need to restore the process that was working."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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