House conservatives huddle with Speaker Johnson on alternate spending deal

Hardline conservative House members who were furious about a topline spending deal struck by congressional leaders left a meeting with Speaker Mike Johnson (R La.) on Thursday saying they are working on an alternative plan. “It’s not going to be the current deal,” said Rep. Ralph Norman (R S.C.), adding that he believed there would be some kind of stopgap funding measure to avert a government shutdown.

But Johnson has not committed to pursuing any new spending levels. “We’re having thoughtful conversations about funding options and priorities. We had a cross section of members in today. We’ll continue having cross sections and members in and while those conversations are going on, I made no commitments,” Johnson said.

Backing out of the deal, if the Speaker goes that way, would throw massive uncertainty into how Congress will avoid a government shutdown ahead of Jan. 19 and Feb. 2 funding deadlines — and through the rest of the fiscal year that ends on Sept. 30. Members of the House Freedom Caucus and their ideological allies huddled in Johnson’s office a day after a group of conservatives in a revolt against the spending deal that Johnson and Democratic leaders announced on Sunday — preventing the chamber from moving forward on three unrelated measures.

“There’s going to be a new deal drawn up and that’s what we’re in the process of doing,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R Ga.) said after leaving the meeting. But Rep. Scott Perry (R Pa.), a former chair of the Freedom Caucus, said that Johnson has not committed to anything yet. “We’re still working,” Perry said.

The agreement announced over the weekend — which is largely in line with the caps set in the debt limit deal then Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R Calif.) struck with President Biden last year — includes a $1.59 trillion top line, plus roughly $69 billion in budget tweaks to increase nondefense dollars for most of fiscal 2024.

It also includes an additional $10 billion in cuts to IRS mandatory funding and a $6.1 billion clawback of unspent COVID 19 funds. Johnson has said this week that the deal is the best that the conservatives could get under the circumstances of a razor thin House majority, a Democratic Senate, and a Democratic White House..