House gridlock broken after nearly a week

The House has finally broken its nearly week-long gridlock after an intra-party  squabble with Republicans. 

The House passed a joint rule to allow for a final vote on two separate packages - a resolution to disapprove of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms' new pistol brace rule and four bills that would restrict the Biden administration's ability to regulate gas stoves. 

The rule passed 217 to 208, with all Democrats opposing.  

A pistol brace, also known as a stabilizing brace, allows weapons to be fired with one hand. The ATF rule would force gun owners to register weapons equipped with a pistol brace. 

The bills can now proceed to a final vote.  

The gang of 11 who held up votes last week over frustrations with Speaker Kevin McCarthy agreed to allow business to move forward after meeting with the speaker

The gang of 11 who held up votes last week over frustrations with Speaker Kevin McCarthy agreed to allow business to move forward after meeting with the speaker. 

At the same time Republicans are moving to rein in the ATF's gun regulation, Democrats are trying to force a vote on gun safety legislation. 

Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries urged Republicans to join him on a discharge petition that would force a vote on three bills - an assault weapons ban, a bipartisan universal background checks bill and a bill that would close a loophole that allows a firearm purchase to be carried out if a background check isn't carried out in three days, expanding that to 10 days.

Last week hardline conservatives had blocked a typically mundane rule vote on the gas stove legislation, which would prevent the Biden administration from regulating the kitchen appliance.

In addition to being upset about the debt deal, they were angry over a claim made by Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Va., that leadership had threatened to hold up his resolution rescinding the pistol brace rule over his 'no' vote on the debt limit deal rule.  

Rep. Ralph Norman told reporters Tuesday morning that the standoff was over 'for now' but 'everything is on the table,' including holding up regular spending bills like the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that funds the Pentagon. 

The new spending announcement appeared to head off conservative opposition for the time being. Gaetz insisted that he wanted a 'power-sharing agreement' with McCarthy 'renegotiated' 

Appropriations Chair Kay Granger announced she would move forward spending bills capped at fiscal year 2022 levels - rather than the 2023 levels agreed to in the debt deal President Biden and McCarthy negotiated.

All of those cuts would be on the non-defense side - leaving defense at the $886 billion in the negotiated deal - and making for even steeper non-defense appropriations cuts - around $159 billion below fiscal year 2023. 

But Granger committed to clawing back some $115 billion in previously allocated but yet unspent funds to offset the lower spending levels. 

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., expressed skepticism of that plan. 

'A lot of us who are concerned about spending worry that that is a budgetary gimmick and not real reform,' he told reporters. 

He said the Appropriations Committee must 'mark the true 2022 spending levels not mark above that and then hope to scoop up some rescissions.'

Still, the new spending announcement appeared to head off conservative opposition for the time being. 

Gaetz insisted that he wanted a 'power-sharing agreement' with McCarthy 'renegotiated' so that McCarthy would cater more to conservative Republicans rather than Democrats. 

Rep. Ralph Norman told reporters Tuesday morning that the standoff was over 'for now' but 'everything is on the table,' including holding up regular spending bills like the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that funds the Pentagon

Photo of a MCK pistol brace 

The debt deal rankled hard-liners as it drew more Democrat votes in the House than Republican - but it needed Democratic sign-off to pass through the Senate. 

But Majority Leader Steve Scalise sounded confident that stricter spending caps would appease hardliners. 

'This all revolves around spending,' he told reporters. 

But appropriations bills have to be able to make it through a Democrat-led Senate. If House Republicans offer bills that come in under the agreed-upon caps, that could set up either a clash with the Senate that allows for a government shutdown or could allow Senate appropriators to offer their own bipartisan spending bills that come in at the spending caps. 

Congress must pass all 12 spending bills separately as McCarthy has promised to pursue, or do an omnibus spending package or a short-term continuing resolution before the start of the new fiscal year - October 1. 

If both chambers don't come to agreement in a timely fashion, the nation could find itself in a situation similar to the debt limit standoff, running right up against a deadline that would trigger a government shutdown.