The conservative advocacy group FreedomWorks voiced its frustration Friday with the House Republican conference, calling the search for a new speaker a "distraction" while divulging its three demands for a new one without issuing an endorsement.
FreedomWorks President Adam Brandon released a statement saying the group has no horse in the race between Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Steve Scalise, R-La.
"Although we have no plans to back any particular candidate for Speaker, we are watching to see how the process shakes out," Brandon wrote.
But he and the group have three demands for the next speaker to replace the ousted Kevin McCarthy:
- Passage of the Fiscal Commission Act.
- Finish the appropriations process.
- Express a vision for leadership
Regarding the Fiscal Commission Act, Brandon wrote: "Major trust fund programs will be exhausted within the next ten years, and we need a strategy on how to protect current beneficiaries while ensuring viability in the future."
Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., last week introduced the bill, which would create a 16-member bipartisan commission to attack the national debt. The bill was co-sponsored by seven Democrats.
Brandon said the appropriations process "should have been completed by the end of June."
"The fact that the House didn’t begin the process until the week before the August recess is a failure of the body," Brandon wrote.
That was at the heart of McCarthy’s downfall. House Republicans got behind on the 12 appropriation bills to fund the government, ending in a place where they needed to pass a 45-day stopgap, which ultimately McCarthy secured at the 11th hour with the help of House Democrats. McCarthy was ousted roughly 72 hours later.
"Finally, we want to know how candidates for Speaker plan to lead the conference, engage the growing number of independent voters who determine the balance of power in Congress, and bring an end to the era of negative partisanship in which we find ourselves," Brandon wrote.
"We are not interested in being told what we want to hear," Brandon added. "We want to see viable plans on these crucial issues going forward. Exercises in political messaging on the House floor are not a practical path forward. This is reflective of the hyperpartisanship that is holding our institutions hostage."
Brandon began his statement by chastising House Republicans for being in this predicament in the first place.
"The House should be in session working on appropriations bills this week," he wrote. "Instead, we are faced with the distraction of choosing a new Speaker of the House that is eating up time ahead of the Nov. 17 deadline to fund the government."
"It's frustrating that we are here."
FreedomWorks came out last week against the motion to vacate in a rebuke of House hardliner Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who filed the motion.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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