House conservatives huddle with Speaker Johnson on alternate spending deal
by Emily Brooks and Mychael Schnell - 01/11/24 1:16 PM ET
Hard-line conservative House members who were furious about a top-line spending deal struck by congressional leaders left a meeting with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Thursday saying they are working on an alternative plan.
“It’s not going to be the current deal,” said Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), adding he believed there would be some kind of stopgap funding measure to avert a government shutdown.
But Johnson has not committed to pursuing any new spending levels.
“We’re having thoughtful conversations about funding options and priorities. We had a cross section of members in today. We’ll continue having cross sections and members in and while those conversations are going on, I made no commitments,” Johnson said.
Backing out of the deal, if the Speaker goes that way, would throw massive uncertainty into how Congress will avoid a government shutdown ahead of Jan. 19 and Feb. 2 funding deadlines — and through the rest of the fiscal year that ends on Sept. 30.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4403072-conservatives-speaker-johnson-alternate-spending-deal/
