TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA — During a phone call with three conservative U.S. House Republicans, Ron DeSantis advised them to remain steadfast in the face of a looming federal government shutdown over spending.
U.S. Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) confirmed DeSantis was on the call Wednesday along with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX).
“We talked about what was going on in the House and about the appropriations fight and what our positions were on how to try to navigate the best path forward,” Good told USA Today on Thursday.
MORE SPENDING CUTS
House Freedom Caucus members want further cuts on spending – beyond what McCarthy and Biden agreed to over the summer – plus more funding for overwhelmed federal agencies to secure the southern border.
Good said the call was “productive” and “constructive,” noting that the trio gave DeSantis the “state of the funding here in Congress” because he shares the same conservative objectives.
“He is urging congressional Republicans to hold the line in this current spending standoff and end days of rubber stamping multi-trillion-dollar spending bills that harm the American people,” DeSantis’ campaign spokesman Andrew Romeo said in a statement.
OPPOSING “OMNIBUS” BILLS
House conservatives are insisting that Congress vote on 12 separate funding bills rather than one giant “omnibus” bill to allow for debate over the details of each package before a vote. Last year’s federal spending package – passed in one appropriations bill – totaled $1.7 trillion.
Massie said DeSantis is “supporting fiscal responsibility and those are things that McCarthy supports, so I don’t think he’s causing him any problems.”
Roy, also a House Freedom Caucus member, has regular conversations with DeSantis, who co-founded the House Freedom Caucus.
“He’s a friend, and [we’re] talking about both his campaign and what’s going on, and he’s interested in what’s going on on the Hill ... and knows what we’re up to and is supportive of us trying to fight to get change up here,” Roy said.
