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Freedom Caucus Throws Water on Leadership Stopgap Confidence

Meadows says more than 22 GOP ‘no’ votes remain

Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., stops to speak with reporters about the continuing resolution on Thursday. He wants a different stopgap funding measure from GOP leadership that his group can support. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., stops to speak with reporters about the continuing resolution on Thursday. He wants a different stopgap funding measure from GOP leadership that his group can support. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows told reporters Thursday there are still more than 22 Republican ‘no’ votes on the stopgap funding measure and that the House GOP can’t pass it on its own without additional changes.

“We’ve offered a number of different options, so it would take the leadership putting forth a different proposal than they currently have,” Meadows said on how GOP holdouts can get to “yes” on the continuing resolution. The North Carolina Republican declined to say how many of the “no” votes were from the Freedom Caucus versus the conference at large.

Meadows confirmed that his group’s Plan A of full-year defense funding has been rejected and said he doesn’t think that its Plan B of defense anomalies is still in play.

“I’m sure we’re at Plan C, but I’m not ready to talk about it,” he said.

Meadows, speaking around noon Thursday, said he last talked to a member of leadership at 10:40 a.m. but he declined to say who it was. He also chose not to say when he last talked to President Donald Trump, but noted that the commander in chief “doesn’t want a shutdown.”

Watch: Pelosi and Ryan Discuss Shutdown Possibility

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Shortly before Meadows’ remarks, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan expressed confidence that the chamber would pass a CR and that Trump supported the plan, despite an earlier tweet from the president suggesting otherwise. 

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called the current situation over government funding “amateur hour” in terms of Republican governance.

“This should have been done,” the California Democrat said. “We could have come to a place where we had a budget agreement, as well as protecting our Dreamers which is part of that agreement as we go forward.”

“Instead Republicans are dillydallying,” she said.

Pelosi referred back to Trump’s May tweet saying the country might need a good shutdown.

“Our country does not need any shutdown and there is no good shutdown,” she said.

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