Top House Democratic group House Majority Forward and the Center for American Progress (CAP) Action Fund, the sister organization to the liberal think tank, released a memo Wednesday putting pressure on House Republicans in districts President Biden won in 2020 ahead of the Speakership vote.
The memo, authored by CAP Action President Navin Nayak and House Majority Forward President Mike Smith and first shared with The Hill, argued that the vote to elect a new Speaker after Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was ousted last week is putting the 18 Republicans in Biden-won districts to the test on government funding.
“These 18 Republicans face a clear choice: put the country first by working in a bipartisan fashion – as the Senate is doing – to prevent a painful government shutdown or continue to march in lockstep with MAGA extremists like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz, and Lauren Boebert. This moment is a true test of their character,” the memo said.
The memo argued that the Republicans in vulnerable districts had the opportunity to demand that the next Speaker commit to working with Democrats to pass government funding measures.
“With a divided government, the only path to keeping the government open is a bipartisan approach. These 18 Republicans will face the same test that other Republicans have faced when staring down the extremism of MAGA: put your party first by leaving the extremists in charge or put your country first.”
“As early as today, we will know which choice they make. Either way, their political fate will be sealed.”
Eight Republicans and all present Democrats voted last week to oust McCarthy from the Speakership after hard-line Republicans expressed frustration with how the California Republican handled the government funding process.
Conservatives have advocated for passing all 12 appropriations bills rather than relying on continuing resolutions, and demanded steep spending cuts and policy provisions that were red lines to Democrats.
But, facing a time crunch ahead of the Sept. 30 government funding deadline and a group of Republicans who refused to vote for a GOP-crafted stopgap bill, McCarthy brought up a “clean” 45-day funding bill that garnered near-unanimous Democratic support.
That bipartisan legislation ultimately led to McCarthy’s ouster, an effort that was led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) didn’t support his ouster but have pushed for the spending cuts Democrats are panning.
Now, Republicans are gearing up to vote on their next Speaker, with House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) as the two declared candidates.
They are also facing down another government funding deadline Nov. 17.
The memo also suggests, however, that vulnerable House Republicans have already put themselves in a bind by voting for some of the GOP-crafted individual appropriations bills, as well as the partisan continuing resolution that ultimately failed.
“House Republicans in Biden-won districts have refused to stand up to the MAGA extremists that have driven the appropriations process. In fact, 17 of the 18 voted for all four of the party’s first appropriations bills to pass the House,” which the memo argued was “filled with extreme policies and a far-right culture war wishlist items.”
It added: “Finally, all 18 of these Republicans supported a continuing resolution that would have slashed many federal investments by 30 percent, gutting programs working families depend on, like the administration of Social Security, affordable housing, and home heating assistance.”
Mychael Schnell contributed.