GOP moderates adopt hard-line tactics amid Republican infighting

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Hard-line tactics and overt rebellions in the House GOP are no longer limited to the conservative wing of the party.

A group of moderate New York Republicans took a page out of the House Freedom Caucus playbook this week, threatening to tank a procedural vote and hold up floor action to protest one of their top priorities — an increase in the State and Local Tax Deduction (SALT) — being left out of a bipartisan tax bill that leadership moved to pass Wednesday with the help of Democrats.

The development showcased how House GOP leaders are engulfed in a multifront battle as they scramble to keep a governing majority with its razor-thin edge over Democrats.

“Sometimes the rational need to become the radical,” said Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-N.Y.), one of the four members who had threatened to block the procedural vote Tuesday.

And it shows that the repeated rebellions in the 118th Congress may have not only led up to the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) but permanently altered House procedure and laid the groundwork for more dysfunction and confrontation in the lower chamber.

“I don’t blame them,” Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio), who has called for internal consequences for members who forced a Speaker battle, said of the New Yorkers’ move. “Do I think it’s reckless? Yeah, I do. But I mean, people, when they act out, get what they want around here, and we’ve disincentivized hard work and working together as a team.”

The tax legislation spurred a tactical exchange between lawmakers who are often on opposite ends of intraparty battles and the ideological spectrum. Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) said there was an “odd coalition that’s formed between Freedom Caucus members and the SALT Caucus members.”

LaLota told reporters that the New Yorkers got counsel from Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), a highly visible member of the House Freedom Caucus who is a stickler for process issues, as they mounted their procedural move. Moderates and conservatives were both opposed to the tax deal, though over different issues.

“We’re having conversations about some of their concerns and about our concerns, and seeing if we can, you know, get a little ‘Kumbaya,’” Roy said.

The legislation at the center of it all, the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act, is the result of a deal struck between House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) and Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). It pairs an expansion of the child tax credit with business deductions for research development costs, interest payments and capital investments, among other provisions.

The bill advanced out of the House Ways and Means Committee earlier this month in a resounding 40-3 vote, with all Republicans voting in favor.

But moderates were disappointed that it did not include an increase in the $10,000 SALT deduction cap. Some conservatives, meanwhile, lamented that the child tax credit provision expanded the “welfare state” and that families with undocumented migrants would remain able to claim the tax credit. The bill maintains the standard set in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed under former President Trump, which requires children to have Social Security numbers for the parents to claim the benefit.

In previous years, the bill’s broad bipartisan support would mean that it would enjoy a relatively undramatic path to House passage, even with Republican opposition.

But in this turbulent Congress, confrontational conservatives have repeatedly upended regular procedural votes on the rules for various bills — a vote dictating the terms of debate for legislation and which amendments can be considered on the House floor. Normally, members of the majority party vote in favor of the rule and the minority party votes against the rule, even though they might vote differently on passage of the underlying legislation, making it a test of party strength. Until 2023, a rule vote had not failed on the floor since 2002.

House Republicans’ historically slim majority — currently a two-vote cushion on any party-line measure, assuming full attendance — meant that those willing to use hard-line tactics had an opportunity to block legislation with rule votes as a form of protest. And members of the House Freedom Caucus and their allies did so, time and time again, often in protest of spending levels. 

The tactic frustrated many House Republicans, including moderates. In September, Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) posted that members including Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good (R-Va.) had “continually undermined the Majority all year” and helped Democrats “by holding everyone hostage and refusing to work as a team.”

But on Tuesday, Lawler joined with D’Esposito, LaLota and Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) in initially voting against a procedural rule tied to legislation unrelated to the tax bill, but as a show of protest about the SALT issue not being addressed in the tax legislation.

The four eventually switched their votes and allowed the rule to advance after huddling with GOP leaders for almost 40 minutes. 

“Inherently, I’m a team player. Before here, I was in the Navy,” LaLota said. “But we’ve seen in 13 months here, individuals and small groups of individuals get their way when they use tactics like taking down rules. So, we’re aware of that tactic. We’re aware of how successful it’s been politically, and all options are on the table to get the results for our constituents.”

For the House Freedom Caucus and their conservative allies, the tactic has had mixed results. Last year, the move did result in leadership bringing up pistol brace legislation that was at the center of one rebellion. But after tanking another vote in protest of Speaker Mike Johnson (R–La.) agreeing to a spending deal, the Speaker stuck to his position.

The Empire State rebels may fare better with their top policy priority. While the tax bill passed Wednesday without the addition of SALT measures, the moderates got a commitment from leadership to try to advance additional SALT legislation. 

The House Rules Committee is set to consider a bill from Lawler on SALT Thursday morning, which could tee up a floor vote. The path is unclear beyond that – including whether it can clear the same procedural hurdle that the lawmakers used as a protest.

Other moderate Republicans who are also concerned about SALT are not convinced that adopting such an aggressive stance is the right move.

“I don’t personally like that tactic. I think that’s the tactic of the Freedom Caucus. I understand why folks are doing that,” said Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.), a member of the SALT Caucus. “I’ve said it before. It’s not good for the team. It’s not good for the country. As a team, we should be passing rules, letting things come to the floor for a vote. But I understand the frustration that the New Yorkers are feeling obviously on this issue.”

There is also some pushback to the rule-tanking move from within the Freedom Caucus. Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), who has often broken with his Freedom Caucus colleagues in recent years, said that the group when it was founded had aimed for regular order and getting a vote on the floor.

“Then things started changing. And all of a sudden now, we don’t get our way, we’re gonna throw a temper tantrum. And it is really counterproductive to what we’re trying to do on the floor,” Buck said. “Then you don’t get a vote at all.”

Threats of failed rule votes have forced Republican leaders to bring up bipartisan, must-pass legislation through a fast-track process called suspension of the rules, which bypasses the need for a rule vote.

Leaders used that process to bring up the tax bill Wednesday, which earned additional pushback from moderates who wanted a chance for a vote on SALT and from conservatives concerned about open processes.

Unlike the conservatives, the vast majority of whom are in safe Republican districts, moderates may risk political backlash if they move against GOP leaders who are deeply involved in boosting those in swing seats.

The Empire State rebels did not see it that way, though. D’Esposito stressed the importance of getting some kind of win on SALT for electoral prospects.

“When it comes to election day, leadership doesn’t cast their votes for us,” D’Esposito said.

Some members of the Freedom Caucus, for their part, observed the floor rebellion with amusement.

“Kudos to them for calling out the process for skipping regular order,” Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) said before the moderates flipped their votes to allow the rule to pass.

But others said that the Tuesday floor scuffle didn’t reach Freedom Caucus levels, since the moderates ultimately flipped their votes.

Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), former Freedom Caucus chair, said of the moderates voting against the rule: “Talk to me when they do it.”

Mychael Schnell contributed.

Updated at 7:28 a.m.