Taking this weekend off, a government shutdown is looking more likely to emerge from the unfettered chaos in Congress.
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Meet the House ‘Dysfunction Caucus’ Vexing Kevin McCarthy
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With possible government shutdown about a week away, leaders struggle to win over small group of lawmakers
A shifting band of lawmakers is blocking House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s efforts to move legislation funding the federal government, with a shutdown set for Oct. 1 if Congress fails to act. Dubbed the “dysfunction caucus” by critics, the holdouts have repeatedly flouted leadership
✓ As Republicans have only a 221-212 majority, any group of five GOP lawmakers can block progress if all Democrats are opposed. Any potential deal with Democrats would carry risks for McCarthy, who faces the constant threat from dissidents of a vote to remove him.
Most of the dissidents come from deep-red districts. All have served in Congress for less than a decade. While many are focused on reining in longer-term spending, others spotlight issues such as immigration or slashing Ukraine funding. This week, a handful of lawmakers twice blocked a procedural vote to advance a defense appropriations package, one of 12 bills needed to fund the government.
Here is a look at some of the GOP dissidents and what demands they have made.
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Andy Biggs (R., Ariz.)
Assumed office: January 2017
Claim to fame: One of 20 House Republicans to vote against McCarthy as House speaker in January, he also voted twice against passing the rule for a military-appropriations bill this week.
Biggs, 64, is a lawyer and former state lawmaker. Once in Congress, he served as chairman of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus. He has voted against Ukraine aid and measures that passed with heavy Republican support, including last year’s defense policy bill and a measure that would pay military members who were exposed to toxic substances during their service. His district is heavily Republican; he won re-election last fall with 56.7% of the vote.
Biggs wants to cut spending and wants his colleagues to go through the House’s 12 appropriations bills one by one, a demand of many holdouts who don’t want to be forced to vote on an omnibus that wraps multiple bills together, as has been done in past years.
Dan Bishop (R., N.C.)
Assumed office: September 2019
Claim to fame: He voted against McCarthy as House speaker. He also voted twice against advancing the House’s military-spending bill this week.
Bishop, 59, has taken hard-right stances on issues such as gun control, government spending, abortion and immigration. He won a special election for a seat that was open after the North Carolina board of elections declined to certify the November 2018 results amid an election- fraud scandal. He easily won re-election in his deep-red district last fall, taking 69.9% of the vote. He said in August that he won’t run for re-election and plans to campaign to become the state’s attorney general.
Bishop wants to cut spending and has called for the House to take up each of the chamber’s 12 appropriations bills separately.
Ken Buck (R., Colo.)
Assumed office: January 2015
Claim to fame: He voted against advancing the House’s military-spending bill on Tuesday but voted for it on Thursday. He supported McCarthy for speaker.
Buck, 64, hasn’t been afraid to break with Republican colleagues on contentious issues, such as in July when he voted against an $886 billion military-policy bill that contained provisions to restrict abortion access, transgender healthcare and diversity efforts in the military, citing the overall price tag of the measure. He and Chip Roy (R., Texas) were the only two Freedom Caucus members who didn’t object to certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential win.
He confirmed a recent New York Post report that he is considering leaving Congress for other work, potentially in cable TV. He was re-elected with 60.9% of the vote last fall.
Buck has pushed for federal spending cuts and tighter border security.
Eli Crane (R., Ariz.)
Assumed office: January 2023
Claim to fame: He voted against McCarthy as House speaker. He voted against advancing the House’s military-spending bill on Thursday after voting for it on Tuesday.
Crane, 43, has served less than a year in Congress. A former Navy service member, he founded a company that makes bottle openers out of fired rounds of ammunition. He unseated Democrat Tom O’Halleran last fall, winning 53.9% of the votes recorded in his district, which covers the northeast quadrant of the state.
Crane wants steep cuts to federal spending and has urged his colleagues to take up appropriations bills one by one to achieve that.
Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.)
Assumed office: January 2017
Claim to fame: He voted against McCarthy as House speaker and has continued to criticize him. He has insisted on no short-term spending patch but didn’t join with other holdouts in blocking the defense bills this week.
Gaetz, 41, is perhaps McCarthy’s top critic. An ally of former President Donald Trump, he has advocated for conservative policies on gun rights and immigration, and helped pioneer the tactic of holding up “rule” votes, joining a group in June that blocked an unrelated gas-stove bill in a protest over spending. He recently said he would try to remove McCarthy as speaker unless he came into compliance with conservative demands. McCarthy says Gaetz is making threats to try to influence a probe by the Ethics Committee into his behavior. Gaetz has denied that.
Gaetz wants spending cuts and for each appropriations bill to be discussed individually. But he also sees the temporary spending measure as a way to advance issues he has long advocated for, including the release of footage of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and a salary cut for Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, whose investigations of Trump’s handling of classified documents and actions after his 2020 election loss have produced two grand jury indictments.
Marjorie Taylor Greene (R., Ga.)
Assumed office: January 2021
Claim to fame: She was a key ally to McCarthy in his speaker fight but voted to block the advancement of the House’s military-spending bill on Thursday after voting for it on Tuesday.
Greene, 49, has become one of the most controversial figures in the Republican party. An ally of Trump, Twitter (now X) suspended one of her accounts over what it deemed Covid-19 misinformation. Democrats and some Republicans voted to remove Greene from her committee assignments for past remarks embracing conspiracy theories. She easily won re-election in her deep -red district last fall.
Greene opposes sending more money to Ukraine and wants any assistance stripped out of spending legislation.
Ralph Norman (R., S.C.)
Assumed office: June 2017
Claim to fame: One of 20 House lawmakers to vote against McCarthy as speaker, he voted to block the advancement of the House’s military-spending bill on Tuesday but then supported it on Thursday.
Norman, 70, has taken staunchly conservative positions on gun rights, spending and abortion. He is a real-estate developer who was elected to the South Carolina legislature before Congress. He recently told a reporter that he is considering challenging fellow Republican Lindsey Graham for his Senate seat.
Norman has pushed for federal spending cuts.
Matt Rosendale (R., Mont.)
Assumed office: January 2021
Claim to fame: He voted against McCarthy as House speaker and voted twice against advancing the defense appropriations bill this week.
Rosendale, 63, is a member of the House Freedom Caucus and opposes efforts to support Ukraine. He won re-election last fall with 56.6% of his district’s votes. He unsuccessfully challenged Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat, for his position in 2018 and is expected to challenge for the seat again in 2024.
Rosendale has called for spending cuts and has railed against what he calls the “D.C. cartel” of establishment politicians.
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