More than two dozen members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus are demanding answers from Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., on his plan for passing appropriations bills, saying they won't back a short-term continuing resolution to avert a government shutdown unless individual appropriations are passed first.
The federal government is poised for a shutdown at 12:01 a.m. Sunday unless Congress passes a budget or a stopgap spending bill.
The Freedom Caucus posted on its X account a letter it sent Thursday to McCarthy signed by 27 members. The letter posed six questions to McCarthy, including whether the House will remain in session working "until all 12 individual regular appropriations bills are passed" and whether McCarthy will "publicly refute and reject the Schumer-McConnell continuing resolution" in the Senate that extends government funding to Nov. 17 and includes $6.15 billion for Ukraine and $5.99 billion in disaster assistance.
"No Member of Congress can or should be expected to consider supporting a stop-gap funding measure without answers to these reasonable questions," the letter concluded. "We remain ready to continue working in good faith with our colleagues across the Republican Conference to advance appropriations; likewise, we expect you to take every step necessary to pass these bills — starting with the four bills now under consideration to fund approximately two-thirds of the federal government."
In a post on X, Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., chair of the Freedom Caucus and lead signee of the letter, wrote: "Mr. Speaker, leaders lead from the FRONT. We need your plan."
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who also signed the letter, posted on X: "Mr. Speaker, we need leadership and a clear plan on spending to get to an end game here — most importantly, with wins for the American people."
Text for the House GOP stopgap has not yet been released, The Hill reported Thursday, but McCarthy has indicated it would be a proposal the conference discussed last week, attaching the bulk of the House Republicans' border crackdown bill that passed earlier this year.
McCarthy said the bill would also cut discretionary funding for the duration of a continuing resolution to a spending level of $1.471 trillion.
Newsmax reached out to McCarthy for comment.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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