House Freedom Caucus says Republicans have winning shutdown message

Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, led by GOP Conference Chair Lisa McClain, R-Mich., held a news conference Wednesday afternoon, saying Republicans have a winning hand when it comes to messaging about a government shutdown — even as the stalemate continues into a 15th day.

For the group’s president, Rep. Andy Harris, Republican of Maryland, that’s because the ball is firmly in the Democrats’ court.

“We are in the second week of the shutdown with no end in sight,” Harris said. “We are hopeful that Senate Democrats will change their minds and decide to reopen the government. But until then, Republicans are standing together.”

During the call, members doubled down on their support for the clean spending extension Republicans advanced last month — not just as a policy issue, but also as a facet of public opinion.

“I think if the American people understood the truth, they would put pressure on Democratic senators to actually open up the government,” McClain said.

Republicans need the support of at least seven Senate Democrats to pass the 60-vote threshold to pass filibuster spending legislation. The Republican Party holds 53 seats in the Council.

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congress remains deadlocked over funding appropriations for fiscal year 2026, which began at the beginning of October. Although Republicans presented a short-term spending plan to keep the government open through Nov. 21, the government went into shutdown on Oct. 1 when Democrats made clear they would not support any extension of spending without a key addition: a continued state of emergency. Coronavirus-era health care subsidies are set to expire at the end of 2025.

“We passed it clean, no gimmicks. No gimmicks, no gimmicks, just at the exact same funding levels that, I might add, the Democrats put in place, which they voted on 13 times ago, last March. But the Democrats killed it,” McClain said, referring to the Republican-led interim legislation.

Republicans framed the standoff as a Democratic attempt to hold the government hostage over bloated government programs that would add billions to the nation’s expenses.

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Democrats see the shutdown as a Republican refusal to negotiate on health care, which will lead to higher monthly premiums for anyone currently relying on expanded coronavirus-era subsidies to pay for Obamacare health insurance plans.

Senate Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., are not ready to compromise on extending Obamacare tax credits as the government shutdown continues. (Kevin Deitch/Getty Images)

Freedom Caucus members said considering some kind of extension of the tax break is still out of the question.

“The bottom line is that Covid-era improvements must end,” said Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas. “Should we look at other Obamacare reforms to stop the upward spiral of premiums? Sure, we should. But discussing Covid-era improvements, as Democrats want, once again, is completely futile.”

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This is a particular focus of the House Freedom Caucus; Since its founding in 2015, the group has always looked to reduce government spending.

Some caucus members noted that it was unusual for the group to support extending clean financing at levels the group believes are too high to begin with.

“We have submitted [in] For Democrats by expanding Biden’s policies and funding Biden. We could have put Republican priorities — Republican funding requests — on this, but we didn’t. So, we have already provided [in] On this. They demand more. “Well, not this time,” Harris said.

President Joe Biden speaks at the 115th NAACP National Convention in Las Vegas, July 16, 2024. (David Becker/AP Photo)

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As the lockdown enters its third week, neither party has indicated an intention to back down anytime soon.

The Senate will consider the spending legislation again on Thursday. If he fails, it will be the 10th time Democrats have rejected a Republican-led spending extension.