In a closed-door caucus meeting on Wednesday, House Leadership is expected to unveil a new continuing resolution to temporarily fund government that also defunds the ObamaCare law. It is a potential reversal from Leadership’s previous position and a victory for conservative grass-roots activists.
Last week, House Leadership unveiled a plan that would continue government funding and, separately defund ObamaCare. Conservatives loudly criticized the plan because it gave the Democrat Senate an easy mechanism to reinstate ObamaCare funding and extend government’s spending authority. One day after a Tea Party rally on Capitol Hill, House Leadership withdrew the plan.
If the House proceeds with this plan, the onus will be on Senate Republicans to push the proposal through that chamber. A recent poll found that a majority of the public favored a government shutdown if it resulted in defunding ObamaCare. A more aggressive Republican position on the spending debate isn’t as risky as previously thought.
A resolution to fund government and defund ObamaCare faces an uphill battle in the Senate. That said, there are half-a-dozen vulnerable Democrat Senators up for reelection next year. Forcing them to go on record supporting an increasingly unpopular law is smart politics.
It took conservatives to get the GOP to make the smart choice.