When I speculated that House Republicans could bumble their way into not passing their agenda next year, I honestly didn't consider that the Batshit Caucus may be one reason why.
Passing a continuing resolution that funds the federal government until nearly next Summer would severely limit the amount of time Congress has to pass their agenda before the next fiscal year, but the Freedom Caucus is pushing back for other reasons.
Congressional Republican leadership appears to have settled on a plan to repeal Obamacare and replace it several years later, but the Freedom Caucus says it should be replaced immediately.
The proposal “will meet with major resistance from Freedom Caucus members,” [incoming chairman Rep. Mark Meadows] vowed in an interview, calling it “the first big fight I see coming for the Freedom Caucus.”
“It should be repealed and replaced, and all of that should be done in the 115th Congress” — the two-year period starting in January through 2018 — and “not left to a future Congress to deal with,” Meadows added.
Speaker Ryan will require the vote of nearly every single member of his caucus to repeal Obamacare, or pass anything else, because the House Republican majority will have narrowed slightly following modest Democratic gains.
If the Freedom Caucus stands firm and votes against a lengthy replacement process, Ryan will not be able to pass it without Democratic votes and, thankfully, recently reelected Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is not going to let that happen.
As I've said before, if Obamacare somehow survives it will be because House Republicans have no idea how to replace it.