A political clash within the Republican Party unfolded on Tuesday as eleven conservative GOP members derailed Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's bills aimed at blocking a potential gas stove ban.
The move sent McCarthy's plans up in flames and highlighted the ongoing rift between the far-right Freedom Caucus and GOP House leadership.
The Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act, one of the blocked bills, sought to prevent the Consumer Product Safety Commission from using federal funds to regulate gas stoves or issue safety guidelines that could potentially ban them or make them more expensive.
The second bill, known as The Save Our Stoves Act, aimed to prohibit the US Department of Energy from implementing standards for cooking products such as stoves.
The disagreement stems from dissatisfaction of McCarthy's right-wing flank regarding his compromise with the Biden administration to avoid default and raise the debt ceiling. The compromise, which did not include significant spending cuts, prompted the conservative faction to revolt once again.
To express their displeasure with McCarthy, proponents of gas stoves over induction stoves in the ongoing culture wars voted against H.Res. 463, a procedural vote to establish rules for a floor vote on the two gas stove-related bills.
The resolution failed with a vote of 206 to 220.
The 11 GOP Representatives who voted against it were Matt Gaetz of Florida, Chip Roy of Texas, Matt Rosendale of Montana, Rob Bishop of North Carolina, Ken Buck of Colorado, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Eli Crane of Arizona, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, and Bob Good of Virginia.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who engaged in heated discussions on the House floor, strategically voted "no" on the rule to bring it up again in the future.
Many have decried the development as yet another example of dysfunction in the GOP-controlled House.
Following the vote, Gaetz voiced his concerns, stating that this could be the first of many blocked bills unless McCarthy honors a deal made back in January.
Gaetz's comments suggested that his support helped McCarthy secure the speakership and that the fundamental commitments of their agreement had been "violated" because of the deal with the Biden administration and House Democrats to pass the debt ceiling measure.
He said the "answer" for House Republicans "is to reassert House conservatives as the appropriate coalition partner for our leadership instead of them making common cause with Democrats."
