Conservative revolt in House alarms Senate GOP
by Al Weaver - 06/11/23 5:15 PM ET
Senate Republicans are growing increasingly concerned with the antics of House conservatives as they paralyze business in the lower chamber with key legislative battles looming in the coming months.
Eleven conservative members blocked a handful of messaging bills from reaching the House floor for votes last week — and vowed to keep doing so — effectively grinding the chamber to a halt over Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) handling of debt ceiling talks last month.
This is giving Republicans across the Capitol agita as they brace for it to be a preview of coming attractions. Lawmakers still need to pass government funding bills, the farm bill and the annual National Defense Authorization Act, among other things, in the near term.
“They’re going to have to sort it out over there. Maybe there’s some bruised feelings. … There’s a lot of governing to do,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a former House member, told The Hill. “If you’re just going to pull the lever for the sake of pulling the lever — yes or no — as a protest, there’s too many important things out there that we need to have addressed with thought.”
McCarthy’s debt ceiling package won well north of a majority of support in the House, including two-thirds of his conference.
The bill received less GOP support in the Senate, where 31 Republicans voted against it, but many in the upper chamber gave the Speaker high marks for his negotiations with the White House.
Nevertheless, some Senate Republicans are dismayed by what happened last week with their House counterparts. Adding insult to injury, there is no indication yet that conservatives will yield and allow the House to continue to conduct its usual business when members reconvene on Monday.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4043199-senate-gop-alarmed-conservative-revolt-paralyzed-house/
