(StraightNews.org) – Moderate Republicans are now warning that their counterparts further to the right could distract the party from pushing important legislation that would be necessary to avoid a government shutdown.
Many GOP members are opposing 21 Republicans largely considered to be heavily aligned with Donald Trump, who have threatened to vote down a crucial funding bill necessary to fund the government unless Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy yields to their demands.
The funding bill, according to the 21 dissenting Republicans, falls short of these demands. Most notably, the bill does not cut as much spending as they desire. Appropriations Committee member Representative David Joyce, R-Ohio, warned the hard-right Republicans that if they aren’t careful, they could instead be dealing with House Democrats instead of their own party come the Sept. 30 deadline.
During an interview, Joyce said that all Republicans are conservative, and framed it as a matter of “working together as Republicans” or “working together with the Democrats.” Joyce also said that too many Republicans fighting among themselves could allow Democrats to seize on the division and pass bills that cater solely to their interests.
The news of the party’s internal divisions comes as Kevin McCarthy was elected as House Speaker after 15 votes in January due to individual conservative breakaways within the party, such as the House Freedom Caucus, that refused to vote for McCarthy.
Such incidents haven’t been the only times Trump-aligned Republicans have managed to pressure McCarthy into concessions. Recently, they were able to push McCarthy into adopting controversial amendments to the annual defense policy spending bill, which targeted the military’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) efforts.
Many moderate Republicans fear that the Trump wing of the party will continue to pressure McCarthy into caving when pursuing policies such as defunding the FBI, measures meant to dissuade women from having abortions, and making significant cuts to rural energy programs.
The current divide between the more moderate Republicans and the ones strictly aligned with former President Donald Trump illustrates the current divisions within the party, as Trump continues to compete to yet again become the party’s nominee amid a sea of other presidential candidates vying for the nomination.
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