The far-right members then used their first opportunity to sink a rule vote last week — that prevented debate on conservative priorities, including preserving gas stove usage — as a signal that they should not be ignored in the future or that leaders should not solely rely on Democrats to enact their agenda. Any five GOP lawmakers could prevent a vote from passing through their razor-thin majority.
This is a significant concession that is sure to get fierce pushback from House Democrats. It also will make it much more difficult to come to an agreement to fund the government with the Senate, where Republicans will probably reject cuts to defense spending and Democrats have bristled at even minor domestic spending reductions.
Yet all sides of the negotiation emerged noting that a long-standing agreement has yet to be reached. Members of the far-right group stressed that they are unafraid to block rule votes if they deem any bill leaders hope to consider as antithetical to their desire for bills to be partisan in nature and reduce spending.“It’s going to depend on how much progress we make towards these other things: policy, procedures and personnel.