House Freedom Caucus backs down on deeper spending cuts

The House Freedom Caucus appears to be backing off pushing for deeper spending cuts than what was originally negotiated when then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) negotiated with President Joe Biden.

According to the Washington Examiner, the news comes as the House has failed to pass bills with the lower number pushed by the Freedom Caucus, which comes in at $1.47 trillion, as opposed to the $1.59 trillion that was negotiated.

Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA), chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, made the announcement earlier this week and explained the caucus' decision.

"$1.59 is too expensive for many of us, but we realized that $1.47 is not going to happen," Perry said.

He added, "No more gimmicks. Most of the House voted for it. Most of the Senate voted for it. That’s where we have to be. Don’t be adding stuff to it."

House Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry (R-Pa.) indicated that the hardline conservative group is easing up on demands for steeper cuts to government spending https://t.co/VEQq0GxKeM pic.twitter.com/8lNBiyPkI4

— The Hill (@thehill) November 30, 2023

Perry was referencing the "emergency spending" measures proposed by politicians on both sides of the Senate aisle, which exceed the $1.59 trillion cap that was previously negotiated.

The president recently requested a $106 billion supplemental spending request, but House Republicans and GOP senators aren't budging until more is done to secure the southern U.S. border.

The Examiner noted:

Republicans in both chambers want to see a crackdown on asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border in exchange for their support of Biden’s request for $106 billion, which includes emergency funding for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan, as well as funding to strengthen the United States's immigration system. The White House’s supplemental request also includes $14 billion for border security.

Republicans aren't opposed to some items of the supplemental request but draw the line at combining the three countries into one aide package.

House and Senate Republicans have fought to separate the funding requests in order to allow proper voting on what takes priority and what's really necessary, obviously opening up the conversation for inevitable negotiations.

"It doesn't matter what we pass here, in the way of legislation, even if it gets a signature, if we don't have a president and administration willing to enforce the law, and that's what we have right now," Perry said.

He added, "So we need to see definable, verifiable, certifiable believable metrics that show it's actually secure."

As the new year ticks closer, both sides will have to come together at some point and figure it out. Hopefully, they're able to do that.