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As Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., struggles to negotiate with members of his own party, House Republicans continue to scrap with one other amid the looming government shutdown.
McCarthy, who presides over a narrow three-seat majority in the House, faces the task of unifying his party amid various calls to greenlight or prevent a government shutdown before the deadline on Sept. 30.
The House Speaker announced that he would bring two spending bills to the House floor this week—including a stopgap measure known as a “continuing resolution,” or CR, to buy lawmakers more time to avoid a shutdown.
The CR would keep the federal government funded through October, with an eight percent cut to discretionary spending outside of Veterans Affairs and defense and disaster relief, Fox News Digital reported.
The bill, which was released by the House Freedom Caucus and Main Street Caucus, was approved on party lines by the House Rules Committee. However, numerous top Republicans have been vocal about their opposition to the measure.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said she would oppose the CR, writing she would “not vote to fund a single penny to the war in Ukraine, COVID anything, and the political weaponized government.”
“I don’t care if I am the ONLY NO vote,” Greene posted to X, formerly Twitter. “I will not vote to fund a single penny to the war in Ukraine, COVID anything, and the political weaponized government.”
She added, “I don’t care if it’s for 1 day or 365 days. We are wasting 1 week trying to buy 4 more weeks. None of this will work.”
Greene also criticized Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., one of the negotiators of the deal, saying the bill could send “billions” of dollars to Ukraine.
“Your CR funds Section C and Section K of Public Law 117-328,” Greene posted to X. “Here’s what the law says. It funds Ukraine in multiple sections, including 2 funds with no specified dollar amount that leaves the spending up to Biden.”
Greene continued, “Billions more could end up being sent to Ukraine with your CR!”
Donalds responded that the congresswoman was “wrong,” writing that she had once voted for the provision that she was attacking.
“Actually, you are wrong,” Donalds said on X. “The provision is to train our troops, so they can train our allies. It’s been in law since 2013. It was in the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act), which you VOTED FOR this year.”
According to Fox News, Rep. Greene clapped back, “I voted for the NDAA, which is policy, in order to be on the conference to remove the money for Ukraine. Defense approps and your CR actually write the checks, the NDAA does not, come on you know that.”
“I’m a NO,” she added. “This is 2023, not 2013, and our country is now funding a proxy war with nuclear Russia. Training is only one thing, the rest is for war. Read the actual law text your continuing resolution funds.”
Greene was not the only House Republican to criticize the continuing resolution. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., said that he will also vote against the CR, calling it a “horrible strategy.”
“The question is whether we will demand single subject spending bills with open amendments and spending caps. We do that or vote no,” Gaetz posted to X on Tuesday.
Gaetz continued, “We do that, or the administrative state wins, possibly forever That was the deal written by far brighter people than me in January. I’m not attacking Chip or Scott or Byron. I’m trying to convince them. The Donalds CR is a horrible strategy. I just wanna get our best players back onside so we can run winning plays.”
In a separate post, Gaetz called the strategy “gets the job done” for Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is currently leading the federal indictments against President Donald Trump.
Rep. Donalds responded to these claims, writing that the “DOJ will operate whether the government is shut down or not.”
“Special Counsels have always exempted themselves from shutdowns,” Donalds wrote to X. “What’s your plan to get the votes to defund Jack Smith? You’ll need more than tweets and hot takes!!”
Gaetz responded, “It is so painful watching someone I admire so much author a continuing resolution to fund the government agencies I loathe.”
Speaker McCarthy announced on Monday that the continuing resolution would get a vote on Thursday.
Republican Reps. Eli Craine, Matt Gaetz, Anna Paulina Luna, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Rosendale, Dan Bishop, and Andy Ogles have said they would oppose the resolution as it stands currently.
However, it does not appear that there will be enough opposition to strike down the resolution.