Trouble in paradise

Frustrations reached a boiling point during a closed-door meeting of House Republicans on Tuesday morning. There, in the basement of the Capitol, a handful of moderate Republicans aired their grievances over last week’s revolt directly at the conservatives who orchestrated it.

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“Ninety-five percent of us were pissed about it,” [Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.)] said of the nearly weeklong deadlock in the House. “It wasn’t right, it hurt the team.”

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[Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.)] expressed frustration that the caps set out in the debt limit compromise are “being rejected by people in our conference that chose last week to demonstrate their angst by denying us an opportunity to have votes.”

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Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), one of the 11 GOP rabble-rousers, warned the rebels could revive their floor blockade if McCarthy fails to meet their still-undefined requests.

The combination of last week’s revolt and the threat of another has infuriated the moderates.

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The growing frustrations come as Congress suits up for high-stakes legislative undertakings that will require bipartisan cooperation — including funding the government, which tops the list.

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Tuesday morning’s conference meeting came hours after House conservatives said they would retreat from their days-long revolt — at least temporarily — and allow legislative business to move forward on the floor as they continue discussions with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) about reining in deficit spending.

  The Hill

So what important legislation did they pass in their temporary truce?

The House on Tuesday voted in favor of preventing the Consumer Product Safety Commission from banning gas stoves and also limiting the safety agency’s ability to regulate the products.

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The gas stove vote comes after the suggestion of a ban sparked a firestorm in Washington. Republicans have sought to draw attention to the issue.

The legislation is unlikely to be taken up by the Democratically-led Senate. The White House said that it opposes the legislation, but has stopped short of a veto threat.

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The House on Tuesday also approved an amendment from Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) that expanded the legislation beyond stoves, making the restrictions apply to commission bans on any type of appliance based on its fuel source.

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Generally, left-wing groups have expressed concerns about gas stoves because they have been linked to childhood asthma and have been found to leak chemicals like the carcinogen benzene.

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The bill approved by the House on Tuesday not only says that the Consumer Product Safety Commission cannot ban the products, it also bars the agency from imposing other safety standards that increase their costs.

  The Hill

By all means. We certainly don't want to pay more for safety.

After last week’s revolt — and with a high-profile agenda on the horizon — some moderates are considering cutting conservatives out of the process and working with Democrats instead.

“I’m of the position that at some point we gotta just do coalition government with the Democrats and cut these guys out,” Bacon said of the conservatives. “If they continue to do that, we got to make them irrelevant.”

He said he is “not yet” at the moment of needing to box out conservatives — ”hopefully they’ll wisen up” — but said, “At some point, we just gotta work across the aisle and tune these guys out.”

  The Hill

Better late than never, I guess, but they should have thought about that a long time ago. We can only hope that the time for that hasn't passed.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.