House Freedom Caucus calls for punting government spending fight into next year

The House Freedom Caucus is increasing pressure on GOP leaders to punt spending legislation for fiscal 2025 into January when the next administration is sworn in, and lawmakers have a better idea of which party will have the upper hand on budget decisions. 

In an official position released Monday, the Trump-aligned caucus pressed House leaders to “use our leverage” to ensure Democrats can’t use President Joe Biden’s final months in a lame-duck period to push through a massive spending bill and advance the party’s agenda. Instead, the group wants to delay the process until early January, when they hope former President Donald Trump will be sworn in for a second term. 

The statement comes before Congress is set to reconvene on Sept. 9, after which lawmakers will have just three weeks to pass some sort of spending agreement to avoid a government shutdown. It’s been widely expected lawmakers will pass some sort of stopgap spending bill to extend current funding levels past the election, although it’s been unclear whether that deadline would extend to the end of 2024 or into early next year. 

Caucus members are also demanding that House GOP leaders tuck Republicans’ SAVE Act into any final spending agreement that is passed through Congress. That proposal was crafted by top Republicans and Trump to ban noncitizens from voting in federal elections, a bill criticized by Democrats as that is already illegal in the United States.

However, the group said it is crucial to include the legislation in any continuing resolution that is passed next month “in light of the millions of illegal aliens imported by the Biden-Harris administration over the last four years.” 

The statement heats up what is already expected to be a tense three-week period when lawmakers return to Capitol Hill and attempt to pass a budget for fiscal 2025. 

House leaders initially planned to pass all 12 of their spending bills before adjourning for an August recess, an ambitious goal they failed to meet due to intraparty disagreement. Instead, the House only managed to pass five, with the others either failing on the floor or being pulled from consideration because of a lack of support. 

Meanwhile, the Senate hasn’t passed any, largely acknowledging the spending fight will rest in the hands of the next administration. 

The spending fight is reminiscent of last September when hard-right Republicans were adamant not to pass an omnibus spending bill — something that eventually led to the ouster of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) after he negotiated a continuing resolution with Democrats to avoid an October shutdown. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) doesn’t face the same ouster threat, although a deal made with Democrats could determine whether he gets to hold on to his top leadership spot next year.