GOP rep: Hard-line Republicans are 'sucking wind' and 'will pay the price at the ballot box'

A top House Republican is warning members of his caucus that their hardline attitudes could lead to electoral disaster in the fall.

During a recent impromptu gaggle with reporters, outgoing Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-North Carolina) offered frank criticism of both House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-Louisiana) leadership so far, and of far-right members of the House Republican Conference. He said his fellow Republicans made an "active choice to extend the pain and create suffering" that led to Johnson pursuing the laddered government spending package last year that set two separate funding deadlines to avoid a shutdown. McHenry told Politico that decision is costing the Department of Defense $4.5 billion each month.

"To draw out the calendar doesn’t actually help produce political wins, and it’s not actually shown to create policy wins," McHenry said, reminding his GOP colleagues that they only control "one-third of the negotiations" and need to get used to not getting "100% of the wins."

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"If we keep extending the pain, creating more suffering, we will pay the price at the ballot box," McHenry said. "At this point, we’re sucking wind because we can’t get past the main object in the road."

"We need to get the hell out of the way. Cut the best deals we can get and then get on with the political year," he added.

A chief gripe McHenry shared was his party's unwillingness to accept Democrats' concessions on immigration and the border. President Joe Biden has called for $14 billion in border funding, which Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) plans to include in the US Senate's $110 billion foreign aid package. Other funding in that proposal includes $61 billion for Ukraine to continue its efforts against Russia's invasion, funding to help Taiwan defend itself against China and money for Israel's ongoing military campaign in Gaza. However, Speaker Johnson has been reluctant to consider the supplemental aid package, saying he wants to know the "endgame" for Ukraine before agreeing to more funding.

McHenry's frustrations with his caucus likely date back to October of 2023, when eight Republicans joined all Democrats to strip the gavel from former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) and set off weeks of infighting to determine who would lead the GOP in the House of Representatives. As House Speaker Pro Tempore, McHenry presided over the House prior to Johnson's election as speaker. In December, McHenry announced he would not be seeking another term.

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