Ad war erupts over funding bill

A conservative group with ties to House Republican leadership is spending heavily on ads that urge House Republicans to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The American Action Network announced Tuesday it will spend more than $400,000 on TV ads targeting the districts of three conservative House members. The group is also taking out national ads on conservative radio programs like the Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity shows, and buying digital ads in the districts of nine other Republicans.


“It’s important that Congress funds national security programs that keep America safe,” American Action Network President Mike Shields said in a statement. “Conservatives nationwide support keeping Homeland Security open and funding programs like enhanced cyber-security and fully enforcing the U.S.-Mexico border. It’s important voters hear the facts about Homeland Security and call Congress to support crucial national security funding.”

{mosads}The 30-second TV ads will hit Reps. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.), Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). All three have said they won’t vote for a Department of Homeland Security funding bill that doesn’t dismantle President Obama’s executive actions on immigration.

“While the threats grow, conservatives in Congress want to beef up our security, enhance cybersecurity and put real teeth in immigration enforcement. It’s the right message to send to our enemies,” the ad targeting Huelskamp says.

“But some in Washington are willing to put our security at risk by jeopardizing critical security funding,” the ad continues. “That’s the wrong message to send to our enemies. Tell Congressman Tim Huelskamp to fund Homeland Security. Our safety must come first.”

Huelskamp quickly sent out a fundraising email on Tuesday announcing that Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has “declared war.”

“A few weeks ago, I told you the knives were out for me in Washington,” the email to supporters said. “And this morning, John Boehner, through his well-funded special interest allies in Washington, began spending thousands and thousands of dollars on false and malicious television ads against me here in Kansas … because I have made it clear that I will not vote for a bill that funds one penny of President Obama’s illegal and unconstitutional executive amnesty plan.”

Huelskamp has consistently bucked Boehner and been a thorn in the side of Republican leadership. The Kansas Republican was able to fend off a primary challenge in 2014, but he could face another tough race in 2016.

In January, Huelskamp and Bridenstine joined 23 other House Republicans in voting against Boehner for Speaker.

The fiscally conservative Club for Growth, which had previously declined to get involved in the DHS funding battle, has also entered the fray, announcing Tuesday it would defend the targeted Republicans against the American Action Network attacks.

“When the House Speaker’s Super PAC chooses to attack conservatives in the House for taking a stand on the principles they believe in, that is a matter of concern to us,” Club for Growth President David McIntosh said in a statement.

“We have a message for those House Republicans who might be targeted: if the Speaker of the House attacks you for standing up for economic freedom and limited government, the Club for Growth PAC will have your back,” McIntosh continued.

The Senate Conservatives Fund, which has a history of targeting Republican leaders and centrists, also joined the fight. The group is encouraging its members to donate to the campaigns of the Republicans targeted in the American Action Network ads to help “defend them from the liberals in their own party.”

“This is a direct attack on three constitutional conservatives by the Republican establishment to punish them for opposing House leadership,” the group’s president, Ken Cuccinelli, said in a statement. “These congressmen are fighting to stop the president’s lawlessness and secure our nation’s borders to protect us from future terrorist attacks. They’re trying to keep the promises that the House leadership made last year, but have once again abandoned.”

Boehner on Tuesday said he will bring a clean Homeland Security bill to the floor, with a vote coming as early as Tuesday. That vote could end the bitter showdown over funding for Obama’s executive actions on immigration, with Republicans giving up the fight for now.

The American Action Network ads are an aggressive move meant to give Boehner some political cover to bring the clean bill to the floor and to make a statement to House conservatives that his leadership shouldn’t be challenged.

Still, the Speaker is likely to see major defections from within his own party and will continue to face questions about his ability to lead his conference.

—This post was updated at 11:18 a.m.