September 28, 2016 | No Comments
The House Freedom Caucus is considering asking Speaker Paul Ryan to delay leadership elections until after the lame duck session — signaling that the group’s support for the current crop of leaders could be contingent on how they handle year-end legislative business.
Supporters of the idea believe postponing the vote — which typically occurs shortly after Election Day when lawmakers return to town — could push House leadership to take a harder line on must-pass legislation. The delay would essentially hold the leadership re-election over Speaker Paul Ryan’s head as he leads negotiations on a spending agreement to fund the government for all of 2017.
“There’s been a discussion about whether we should try to ask for the delay of the elections until after we do the lame duck,” said one Freedom Caucus members. “We’d like to see how folks conduct themselves in the the most crucial time of this Congress… the funding issue, omni, mini-bus.”
But the 40-person conservative group appears to be divided over the matter as they grapple with how hard to push the new speaker. Many in the group think Ryan has done a good job communicating with conservatives since taking the gavel. And some want to cut him some slack and aren’t sure what they can achieve with the request.
No final decisions have been made yet. Should the Freedom Caucus decide to pursue the request, they could send a letter as soon as this week but also may wait until after the general election, since Congress is leaving town early.
Lawmakers are set to deal with several matters during the lame duck session. Conservatives have been warning Ryan against passing a massive “omnibus” package which would fund all government agencies in one big bill — something Ryan himself has expressed disdain for. But it’s unclear if the Senate will back Ryan’s pitch to move mini legislative packages, which offer more transparency, through both chambers.
In addition to government funding, conservatives are still fearful that Ryan will bring to the floor a trade bill they oppose known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Ryan, who personally backs TPP, has several times said they don’t have the votes to pass it, and he’s acutely aware of the anti-trade sentiment coursing through the nation and his own party.