Angered by Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., cutting a deal with Democrats to avoid the nation defaulting on its debt for the first time in history, a group of far-right Republicans used a rare procedural move on Tuesday to block bills backed by their party.

What You Need To Know

  • Angered by Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., cutting a deal with Democrats to avoid the nation defaulting on its debt for the first time in history, a group of far-right Republicans used a rare procedural move on Tuesday to block bills backed by their party

  • It’s the first time in more than 20 years a rule vote, a routine procedure to advance legislation to the next stage of consideration, was voted down, according to CSPAN
  • The 11 members of Congress threatened to halt all Republican legislation if McCarthy didn’t assuage their concerns he was capitulating to Democrats instead of working with the right-wing of his own party. Some members accused the speaker of retaliating against those who didn’t vote with leadership
  • “It’s up to the speaker,” Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., told CNN when asked if the Republican legislative agenda will be stalled. “He has to abide by the agreements he made at the beginning of this Congress"

Together with Democrats, a group of rebel Republicans voted down a rule that would advance GOP-backed bills focused on deregulation and protecting gas stoves from being phased out for environmentally friendly alternatives.

It’s the first time in more than 20 years a rule vote, a routine procedure to advance legislation to the next stage of consideration, was voted down, according to CSPAN.

The 11 members of Congress threatened to halt all Republican legislation if McCarthy didn’t assuage their concerns he was capitulating to Democrats instead of working with the right-wing of his own party. Some members accused the speaker of retaliating against those who didn’t vote with leadership.

“Today we took down the rule because we’re frustrated at the way this place is operating,” Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., told reporters on the steps of the Capitol. “We’re concerned that the fundamental commitments that allowed McCarthy to assume the speakership have been violated.”

McCarthy’s ascension to the speakership took 15 rounds of voting in January and required him to cut deals with dissenters to get enough yes votes or, in the case of Gaetz, abstentions, to secure the gavel. Now Gaetz and ten members of the House Freedom Caucus are accusing McCarthy of breaking those commitments, though they appear not to have enough votes to oust him from the job.

“It’s up to the speaker,” Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., told CNN when asked if the Republican legislative agenda will be stalled. “He has to abide by the agreements he made at the beginning of this Congress.”

After the vote Tuesday, Gaetz and Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., sat down for an interview with Steve Bannon, the influential former adviser to President Donald Trump. Gaetz and Boebert accused Republican leadership of cracking down on members who don’t toe the party line.

“There’s some we can tell you about and there’s some we cannot tell you about,” Gaetz said of the alleged tactics being used by McCarthy and his allies. The two members said threats included loss of committee chairmanships or removal from committees entirely.

“We will not tolerate that,” Gaetz continued. “If that means the Gas Stove Protection Act doesn’t get a vote this week, then so... be it.”

The other Republicans who voted against it with Gaetz, Boebert and Buck were Arizona Reps. Andy Biggs and Elijah Crane, North Carolina Rep. Dan Bishop, Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett, Virginia Rep. Bob Good, South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman, Montana Rep. Matthew Rosendale, and Texas Rep. Chip Roy.

Several members of the House Freedom Caucus were later spotted by a Punchbowl News reporter entering McCarthy’s office, including Bishop and Roy.