This would be a tremendous blow for Republican leadership. Since that time, Rep. Chip Roy, a Republican from Texas, has raised ruckus over a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill advancing in Congress today. The House Budget Committee met this morning level to markup the complicated legislation. Roy cautioned that, in its current form, the bill would increase the deficit. As he mentioned, deficits are set to increase, particularly in the early part of the 10-year budget window.
Roy’s opposition is truly striking a chord with many of his Republican members. Next in line are stalwart appropriators Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Andrew Clyde of Georgia, and Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma. They all agree that the introduced bill needs more work before they can support it. Roy asserted that the bill includes back-loaded savings while front-loading spending, in essence admitting that the bill is fundamentally incompatible with fiscal responsibility.
At the hearing, Committee Chair Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX) recognized the headwinds the bill is facing. He was the first to concede that it’s not ready for prime time. He reiterated that fundamental changes to tax and Medicaid provisions are needed in the coming days to attract wider support.
Shining a light on splits inside the Republican Party, Democrat Rep. Brendan Boyle opened things up near the beginning of the hearing. As everyone knows, we’ve started down the reauthorization path, and you might’ve heard my ranking member, Mr. And honestly that’s partly the huge gap between Republicans and other Republicans. The other gap is between each set of Republicans and this end of the dais. Boyle just as much wanted to make clear that any Democrat should be against this bill. Here’s Jim Inhofe saying he can’t support it unless they do some real reforms to it.
Roy criticized the legislation further by asserting, “I have to now admonish my colleagues on this side of the aisle. This bill falls profoundly short. It does not do what we say it does with respect to deficits.” He couldn’t be more right, especially when it comes to the biggest concern for fiscal conservatives. They think the administration’s latest proposal doesn’t do enough to address serious budgetary concerns.
Norman’s sentiments rang out in emphatic agreement with Roy. He reiterated that substantial changes need to be made for Roy to consider voting in support of the bill. As negotiations continued over the weekend, on Friday Arrington announced that he was adjourning the hearing, making it clear that committee members would not be returning over the weekend.
The developing battles foreshadow a growing divide in the GOP on fiscal policy and budget priorities. With all Democratic representatives firmly opposed and several Republicans expressing hesitance, it remains unclear how party leaders will navigate these internal divisions moving forward.