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Group of House conservatives unveils demands to support spending bill and avoid shutdown

FILE - Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., talks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, July 17, 2023. House conservatives in a group known as the Freedom Caucus have unveiled a list of demands that they want included in a stopgap spending measure to keep the federal government running after the end of September. It's a smorgasbord of non-starters for the Democratic-controlled Senate and the White House, signaling the challenges McCarthy will face next month to get a bill passed in the House without alienating a sizeable share of his conference. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
FILE - Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., talks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, July 17, 2023. House conservatives in a group known as the Freedom Caucus have unveiled a list of demands that they want included in a stopgap spending measure to keep the federal government running after the end of September. It's a smorgasbord of non-starters for the Democratic-controlled Senate and the White House, signaling the challenges McCarthy will face next month to get a bill passed in the House without alienating a sizeable share of his conference. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

By KEVIN FREKING / Associated Press 3 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) — House conservatives in a group known as the Freedom Caucus have unveiled a list of demands that they want included in a stopgap spending measure to keep the federal government running after the end of September.

It’s a smorgasbord of non-starters for the Democratic-controlled Senate and the White House, signaling the challenges House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will face next month to get a bill passed in the House without alienating a sizeable share of his conference.

Historically, members of the Freedom Caucus rarely support short-term spending bills to keep the government open, but with Republicans holding just a five-seat majority in the House, they have significant leverage over the agenda. Still, McCarthy will likely need votes from Democrats to pass a short-term funding measure than can also get through the Senate and be signed into law.

Among the demands from the House Freedom Caucus:

— Spending levels below the top-line numbers that McCarthy had agreed to with President Joe Biden as part of a bill to increase the nation’s debt ceiling.