WASHINGTON _ A majority of House Republicans appear ready to support a short-term continuing resolution to keep the government open through Feb. 16, but enough Freedom Caucus members remain uncommitted to make passage questionable.
"The votes are not currently there to pass it with just Republicans," Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows said before a crucial House GOP conference meeting on the topic Tuesday night. After the meeting, he offered no indication that view had changed.
"Obviously, we know this is going to come down to just a few Republican votes and the number of Freedom Caucus members that are undecided could make the difference on whether we pass it or not," the North Carolina Republican said.
"At some point, you have to figure out why is the fourth CR going to be any different than the second or the third, and I don't know that there's been a compelling case for that," Meadows said.
Indeed, if passed, the four-week CR that House GOP leaders pitched to their conference Tuesday night would be the fourth stopgap funding measure Congress has deployed since the start of fiscal 2018 on Oct. 1.
GOP leaders intend to whip support for the CR on Wednesday and bring it to the floor Thursday if the votes are there. The current stopgap measure expires Friday.
A broader agreement on raising the fiscal 2018 spending caps, necessary for an omnibus spending deal, has remained elusive as Republicans have resisted Democrats' calls for equal increases in defense and nondefense spending.
Democrats have also signaled they will not agree to a deal on spending caps that does not address the status of young undocumented immigrants who could face deportation when the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program, ends in March.
Because of inaction on DACA and the spending caps, Democrats have largely opposed the last two CRs and Republicans have supplied the majority of votes. In the House, the few Democrats who ultimately voted for those CRs withheld their votes until Republicans put up enough "yes" votes to pass it on their own.
That is the likely outcome again unless there's a breakthrough on DACA and the spending caps.
"If we protect the 'Dreamers' in the CR and we memorialize the agreement on caps in the CR, I think Democrats will surely vote for the CR," House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer said. Absent that, the Maryland Democrat said his party would not be "held hostage" by GOP inaction.
Nevada Rep. Mark Amodei said Speaker Paul D. Ryan told the conference Tuesday night that there's no Friday deadline on DACA. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy spoke generally about the status of the No. 2 talks, which he said are progressing, according to Amodei.
Other GOP leaders have said they do not expect a DACA deal to materialize this week, and House Republicans seem to understand they'll need to supply enough of their own votes to pass the CR. Most members leaving the GOP conference meeting predicted that will occur.
"No crystal ball is perfect, but yes, in my judgment, the CR will pass before the week is out," said Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks, a Freedom Caucus member. The defense hawk said he plans to support the CR, noting that it is incumbent on Republicans who support national security to continue government funding.
In addition to extending current funding levels through Feb. 16, the CR would reauthorize the Children's Health Insurance Program for six years and delay enactment of certain taxes that were part of the 2010 health care law. Specifically, the measure would delay the medical device tax and the Cadillac tax for two years and the health insurance tax for one year, Ways and Means member Erik Paulsen of Minnesota said.
To provide some flexibility for the military, the bill includes a provision allowing the Defense Department to provide funding for missile defense enhancements.
Still, the lack of additional defense funding was a source of consternation at the GOP meeting. Several members spoke in favor of including such funding for the remainder of the fiscal year in the CR, but leadership is unlikely to grant that request given the likelihood it would be filibustered by Senate Democrats.
Many members also used the conference meeting to push for a vote on the immigration bill released last week by Judiciary Chairman Robert W. Goodlatte, suggesting passage of the conservative measure would increase Republicans' leverage in the DACA negotiations.
Freedom Caucus member Raul R. Labrador, one of the chief co-authors of the Goodlatte bill, said members are not linking the immigration measure to the CR given different deadlines on the two issues. However, he said it's important for leadership to outline the strategy on DACA and noted that many House Republicans want to vote on their bill.
"It was just introduced," the Idaho Republican said when asked if the measure had enough support for a floor vote. "If leadership gets their act together and starts whipping this bill, we'll get to 218 easily."
On all the lingering issues, House Republicans pushed for positions that would likely set up conflict with the Senate. Members said they continue to feel frustrated that the Senate often jams the House with their preferred solution.
"What we want to see is Paul Ryan take the gloves off with (Senate Majority Leader Mitch) McConnell," Freedom Caucus member Dave Brat said. "There was a bunch of that sentiment in the room."
