Freedom Caucus Can’t Stomach Speaker Johnson’s ‘Bogus’ Spending Deal

Far-right House Republicans are predictably angry about the bipartisan government spending deal Speaker Mike Johnson negotiated and endorsed over the weekend.

But they aren't ready to force him out.

House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good and fellow conservative hardliners Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Michael Cloud and Chip Roy of Texas, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Andy Ogles of Tennessee, and Matt Rosendale of Montana all grumbled about the “bogus,” “terrible,” “bloated,” and “wasteful” $1.59 trillion budget agreement — which is really $1.66 trillion after counting additional spending gimmicks.

Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer were the lead negotiators of the agreement, which they and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and President Joe Biden collectively hailed as a step toward avoiding a government shutdown later this month. 

And while some Freedom Caucus members warned Johnson about working with Democrats in the new year, none appear ready to ignite another brutal replacement speaker hunt. 

“That is not something Rep. Norman is considering,” an aide to the South Carolina Republican said when asked if Johnson might find himself hung out to dry like toppled budget dealmaker Kevin McCarthy. 

Good and others did not respond to requests for comment about possibly punishing Johnson for this latest affront. But several reposted a late December statement demanding significant budget cuts that had been tagged with fresh outrage billing the renewed deal a “total failure.” 

Schumer opened the first Senate session of the new year by noting that Democrats’ goal when negotiations began was to preserve a nondefense spending level of $772 billion, the figure McCarthy and Biden agreed to last year.

“That $772 billion was precisely the number we reached,” he said in a floor speech. “Not a nickel — not a nickel — was cut.”

While it won't be easy to pass all 12 spending bills, Schumer said, the topline spending agreement gives appropriators what they need to finish their work.

“Both parties reached this agreement without resorting to the painful and draconian cuts that the hard right, particularly those in the Freedom Caucus, clamored for,” Schumer said. “I’m happy to say that Democrats protected vital priorities like housing programs, veterans benefits, health care, nutrition programs, small business support, the NHS and funding for federal law enforcement.”

He also boasted that Democrats preserved climate investments from the Inflation Reduction Act and said the agreement won’t impact the IRS’ ability to go after wealthy tax cheats.

“The hard right wanted to use the appropriations process to undo our climate investments. Democrats said no, and we held the line,” Schumer said. 

The agreement accelerates $10 billion in IRS funding cuts slated to hit in fiscal 2025 into the current fiscal year, for a total of $20 billion that will be slashed from the $80 billion Democrats approved in the Inflation Reduction Act. Johnson touted that as a win for his party, but Democrats downplayed the significance, with Schumer saying new IRS tools to audit the rich “will remain in place.” 

Rep. Good bemoaned settling for Democrat-approved caps “with no significant policy wins.” 

“At some point, having the House majority has to matter,” he wrote online. 

“If this is the best Republicans can do, there’s no hope of ever balancing our budget or securing the border,” Norman posted to his social media. 

He further fleshed out his frustration in a note to his constituents, calling the spending deal “a near total abdication of what Speaker Johnson was supposed to be fighting for.”

“Just know I’ll be voting against this,” Norman assured his readers. 

Roy signaled similar opposition, tagging himself as a “hard no” in response to McConnell’s public endorsement of the budget deal.  

“Unfortunately, the microscopic concessions made by Democrats are nothing compared to the hundreds of billions it is costing Americans from illegals crossing our border and the imminent national security threat it presents,” Rosendale, who helped oust McCarthy for working across the aisle, said of this latest stumbling block. 

Russ Vought, former President Donald Trump’s budget chief who often advises the Freedom Caucus, said on social media that  “lettuce could have negotiated a better deal” than Johnson. 

The deal allows for $100 billion more spending than if Republicans instead passed a full-year continuing resolution extending the current year’s policies, which under the debt limit law would  trigger an automatic 1% across-the-board cut that would have hit non-defense programs and effectively froze defense spending.

“That's how bad this is & why Dems previously panicking [because] we had them are now celebrating,” Vought said.

Even if the Freedom Caucus gets the spending cuts they are seeking, many members of the group have said they will not vote for any government funding bills until the border is secure. 

Calling it “a never-before-seen security crisis,” Rosendale declared: “Congress must utilize every tool we have available to us to secure the border, including shutting Washington down!”