U.S. House breaks legislative logjam, advances Republican bills

By David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to allow debate on five bills, ending a week of legislative paralysis forced on the chamber by hardline Republican conservatives.

Lawmakers voted 218-209 to take up legislation that was delayed last week by a protest over the debt ceiling deal between Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Democratic President Joe Biden that passed the House on May 31.

The procedural vote clears the way for House passage of the legislation. The bills stand little chance of success in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

The protest by roughly a dozen conservative hardliners shuttered the House floor for two days and forced McCarthy to send lawmakers home early last week. The speaker and his critics reached a temporary truce on Monday.

But the hardliners, who want deeper spending cuts than those included in the McCarthy-Biden debt ceiling bill, said they stand ready to derail other measures as they seek greater influence over the House agenda.

McCarthy and other key Republicans say they will push for deeper cuts as well.

The previously delayed bills would block new gas stove regulations, give Congress the ability to stop other new federal rules, and expand judicial oversight on regulatory issues.

Another bill would repeal a new firearms restriction on “stabilizing braces,” which functionally convert pistols into short-barreled rifles. Such weapons are considered particularly deadly and have been used in mass shootings.

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