'Fiery' closed-door meeting highlights bitter infighting among House Republicans

13 June 2023

In early June, a group of 11 far-right House Republicans voiced their displeasure with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) and his recent debt ceiling agreement with President Joe Biden by blocking GOP-sponsored bills. Conservative critics of this blockade argued that the 11 Republicans were cutting their noses to spite their faces.

The following week, tensions among House Republicans were evident during a "fiery" closed-door meeting on Tuesday, June 13, according to Axios' Juliegrace Brufke.

Brufke reports, "Multiple GOP sources in the room told Axios that moderates took to the mics to slam the 11 members who froze the floor, arguing that a small group does not speak for the entirety of the conference and blasted their calls for a renegotiated speaker's agreement."

According to Brufke, Rep. Mike Lawler (R-New York) "slammed the blockade" during the meeting, while Rep. Matt Gaetz (D-Florida) defended it.

"Freshman Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) was 'screaming at the mics' about the floor shutdown, 'dropping multiple F bombs' and telling the room 'he's introducing bills to save lives and it's not s**t that gets on Fox News,' according to two sources in the room," Brufke reports. "Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) rebutted Van Orden's criticisms, arguing that he is 'looking to shrink government.'"

Members of the far-right House Freedom Caucus are still furious over the Biden/McCarthy debt ceiling agreement.

Republicans who joined McCarthy in voting to raise the United States' debt ceiling argued that it was necessary in order to prevent the U.S. from defaulting on its debt obligations. But Freedom Caucus members and ultra-MAGA Republicans who voted against the bill argued that the spending cuts Biden and McCarthy agreed on did not go far enough.

Meanwhile, progressive Democrats who voted against the bill, including Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington), believed that the cuts were extreme.

"The (House Republican) Conference still has a lot of legislation it wants to pass, ranging from spending bills to FAA reauthorization," Brufke reports. "Fractures within the Conference could make those tasks more difficult and place Speaker Kevin McCarthy's leadership position on tenuous ground."

Axios' full report is available at this link.

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