GOP leaders charge ahead on uncertain vote with ambitious agenda at stake

House GOP leaders are charging ahead with a procedural vote Tuesday afternoon that will make or break their ambitious agenda for the week, despite a number of members expressing uncertainty about whether they will allow the agenda to move forward.

The procedural rule vote, scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, would tee up a number of major legislative items that GOP leaders hope to pass this week before the chamber departs for August recess.

One of those items is a budget reconciliation framework for $95 billion in military funding, farm aid and a voting restriction grant program in the style of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act, which Republicans hope to pass through a special process that would bypass a Democratic filibuster in the Senate.

Fiscal hawks, though, have been disappointed by the lack of offsets to that $95 billion spending boost and by the fact it didn’t include the kind of antifraud measures Republicans had long discussed putting in a third party-line bill.

The rule would also tee up a three-month stopgap funding bill, as House Republican leaders aim to avoid a shutdown after Sept. 30; a stock trading ban bill; and the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who has expressed skepticism about the reconciliation framework, declined to reveal how he was planning to vote. 

“As I’ve said publicly, there are reasons to move forward with this structure. There are concerns, and we’re continuing to work through those. All of this is built around the premise that Democrats refused to work with us to do anything productive,” Roy, policy chair of the House Freedom Caucus, said.

Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) said Monday that he’s “still considering” how he will vote on the rule.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) can afford to lose no more than three members on the party-line vote, assuming all members are present and voting. Johnson expressed optimism about the rule succeeding on the floor.

“We’ll pass it. There’s always individual questions. Individual members are working through all that. I’m convinced we’ll get it done,” Johnson said. 

Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought spoke to members in a closed-door conference meeting on Tuesday morning. He argued that the scaled-down reconciliation bill was all about strategy on what could get through the Senate.

Calls from leaders to unify, though, can only do so much. 

“I don’t think they made a very compelling pitch,” Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) said 

Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) also said she is undecided on the rule. Spartz was one of three Midwestern members who voted against a rule to tee up the NDAA before July 4 out of anger about an amendment not being approved to restore terminated pensions for workers at the former General Motors auto parts company Delphi.

“Supposedly we’ll resolve it in the Senate. We shall see,” Spartz said of the Delphi situation.

Some members, though, are planning to support the rule vote despite their hesitance about the underlying reconciliation framework.

Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) said he will vote for the rule, but he’s “not necessarily there yet” on the budget framework. 

“I spoke in front of conference and said that I have a really hard time stomaching increasing the deficit without pay-fors,” Burlison said. “I can get there if there’s a compelling why.”

Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas) also said he would support the rule. Asked about the lack of offsets in the budget framework, he said, “The most important thing is the SAVE America Act. Full SAVE America. I’m willing to eat some spending in order to get the most important bill we will pass this year, the SAVE America Act, across the finish line.”

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.