(IntegrityPress.org) – House Speaker Johnson’s recent deal with Democrats to seal the budget for FY2024 at $1.6 trillion has inspired some backlash from conservatives in Congress who are furious over federal government spending which has fueled inflation and increased economic burdens on Americans across the board.
It’s possible members of the House Freedom Caucus vote against individual budget proposals for a number of U.S. Departments over the coming week which may trigger a partial government shutdown. The caucus is composed of approximately three dozen members of the House who are aggressive in their desire to see some restraint exercised on federal spending in the wake of the pandemic.
The group became formally organized in 2015 with the goal of promoting libertarian and conservative principles within the Republican party.
Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) is the incoming chair of the group. He was a key figure in pushing for the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in early October. Good slammed the deal as a “loss for America.” Good highlighted that there’s been no dramatic reduction in spending and no negotiated wins in policy. He also pointed out that the southern border is still open and there should be no negotiations about spending until that crisis is addressed with due concern from the administration.
The official position of the Freedom Caucus is that the deal is a complete “failure.” They’re also heavily critical of a $69 billion side-deal for non-defense programs that was included in the budget, raising the total for FY2024 to $1.66 trillion.
Johnson has complained that he has very little room to negotiate due to prior arrangements made before his time as Speaker. Johnson also points to $16 billion in cuts he secured, while fiscal conservatives say that isn’t enough. Those funds were cut from leftover pandemic spending and the IRS budget.
Rep. Eric Burlinson (R-MO) called the deal “a sham” and suggested both his party and the Democrats were “addicted to reckless spending.”
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), a former chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, called it a “spending epidemic,” and suggested it was sad that both parties were responsible.
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