Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify Rep. Lamborn’s relationship with the House Freedom Caucus.
DENVER (KDVR) — Congress has until the end of September to pass a funding measure in order to avoid a government shutdown. U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn called it “a 50-50 proposition.”
“Those that think they’re going to get something out of it (a shutdown), they’re going to be sadly mistaken,” the Republican said this week on “Colorado Point of View.”
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy came to an agreement with President Joe Biden back in May, but House Freedom Caucus members have vowed not to support that deal unless their demands are met. Those demands include cutting spending to $120 billion less than what was agreed upon, to a 2022 level of $1.47 trillion.
The group of about 40 House Republicans also vowed not to support a measure unless it cracks down on southern border crossings, addresses what they call the “weaponization” of the Justice Department and FBI and ends so-called “woke” policies in the Pentagon.
Lamborn: ‘People keep moving the goalpost’
Lamborn said he agrees with those demands: “I think 95-100% of the Republicans in the U.S. House agree with those same goals.”
But Lamborn is Colorado’s only Republican lawmaker on Capitol Hill who is not a part of the House Freedom Caucus. He said it’s been difficult to negotiate, though, because “people keep moving the goalpost on you as you try to march down the field.”
Lamborn said despite the House Freedom Caucus saying they don’t want a government shutdown, the group will “achieve the things they say they don’t want because they’re not being very reasonable.”
You can watch the full conversation with U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn on “Colorado Point of View” this Sunday at 7:30 p.m. on Channel 2.
