Rep. Spartz Threatens to Stall Work to Get Spending Cuts

Ahead of the House scheduled to begin voting on appropriations bills next week, Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., is threatening to stall legislative action if Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., fails to impose more spending cuts, the Washington Examiner reported.

She sent a letter on Tuesday to McCarthy stating that she would oppose all Republican-led rules votes "going forward" until the Speaker deals with any unauthorized or automatic spending by the federal government.

Spartz's letter could set the stage for a showdown within the GOP as Congress tries to pass spending bills before the Sept. 30 deadline, with conservatives insisting on increased cuts as part of appropriations talks and some even warning they won't back must-pass legislation if their demands aren't met.

"I would like to express my utmost dissatisfaction with the lack of leadership dealing with the fiscal state of our nation," Spartz wrote in the letter. "Congress has abandoned its most important duty to the American people — to oversee spending. As you know, we can wipe our *** with all letters and grandiose statements we are sending to the executive branch. Only money matters."

Spartz has accused McCarthy of violating promises he made before being elected House leader, adding that "recently, as part of our 'debt ceiling' debacle, you promised to create a task force to deal with this issue — nothing meaningful has happened. We will be passing appropriation bills on unauthorized spending once again, waiving our rules."

McCarthy has stated that the House can pass all 12 appropriations bills before the deadline, according to the Washington Examiner. The House Appropriations Committee has already approved eight of the 12 spending bills it must pass each year to fund the government.

"We will get our bills passed, like I said we will — this is a new Congress with new leadership," McCarthy said, brushing off concerns that conservatives would hold up the process. "The most important thing is not the Freedom Caucus. It's America."

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