Fresh Republican shutdown divisions erupt in private call
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Rep. Dan Crenshaw speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill on June 26, 2024. Photo: Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Republican dissent over House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) shutdown strategy spilled out on a private GOP call this afternoon, with Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) adding himself to the growing list of lawmakers questioning whether they should still be home in their districts.
Why it matters: Republicans have been largely unified around their strategy of keeping the House out of session and refusing to negotiate with Democrats. But the cracks are growing.
- Crenshaw questioned how the House could make up for the lost days, a source on the call told Axios. Lawmakers haven't voted since Sept. 19.
- Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) also raised concerns about being on recess during the shutdown. They both have expressed opposition before.
The intrigue: It's not just the members who spoke up on the call who are questioning their party's refusal to even come to the negotiating table with Democrats.
- "I do think we should be negotiating the ACA tax credits and have that compromise to put in the Approps bills," Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), a retiring centrist, told Axios.
- "We don't need [it] for the CR, but if we all negotiate in good faith within the Approps process, we may break the ice jam."
The other side: Several Republicans stressed to Axios that while more members are expressing doubts about Johnson's approach, the skeptical view remains a relatively marginal one.
- "I haven't heard it anywhere else," one senior House Republican told Axios.
- Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), a member of the often rebellious House Freedom Caucus, told Axios: "The speaker's play call is correct."
State of play: The House is on track to work one of its lightest non-election years in decades, and has effectively removed itself from the conversation around reopening the government.
- Johnson has maintained that the House "has done its job" already by passing a clean stopgap government funding measure, and said he'll only move to bring lawmakers back once the Senate passes the continuing resolution.
The bottom line: A few members' objections likely won't prompt Johnson to change course.
- At a press conference last week, Johnson told reporters that "99% of the House Republicans" agree with his decision to keep the House out.
- House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) jumped to Johnson's defense after the three members raised concerns, reiterating his support for the speaker on the call, a source said.
