What led most publications (such as Axios and the Wall Street Journal) to consider this situation different from simple bipartisan votes was its systematic nature: Republican leadership employed it to sideline dissenters and hardliners from their own party on virtually all important, "must-pass" bills.
In order to secure the speakership, McCarthy was forced to make concessions to opponents including allowing any single member of Congress to trigger a motion to vacate.
[11] With four Democrats as the minority members, that meant any bill that the Freedom Caucus strongly opposed could be blocked from advancement to the floor, as three votes against would result in a 7-7 tie and a defeated motion.
The negotiations resulted in the bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, which capped discretionary spending in 2024 and 2025 and increased work requirements for SNAP recipients.
[24] Despite the earlier agreement, in September 2023, Freedom Caucus members once again began joining with Democrats to block procedural rule votes.
The Freedom Caucus was angry about a proposed continuing resolution to avert a government shutdown that they argued did not do enough to cut spending.
[25][26] On September 29, twenty-one Freedom Caucus members joined with Democrats to block a continuing resolution which included spending cuts and immigration restrictions.
[27] In order to avert a government shutdown, McCarthy struck a deal with Democrats for a bipartisan continuing resolution that kept funding at 2023 levels but did not include aid to Ukraine.
[29] Angry over the passing of a bipartisan continuing resolution, Republican representative Matt Gaetz filed a motion to vacate, forcing a vote on McCarthy's removal within two legislative days.
[35] Following the vote to oust Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker, Jeffries penned an opinion column in the Washington Post calling for a “bipartisan governing coalition” in which he pitched a path for consensus legislation that could not be blocked by a “small handful of extreme members” when large swaths of the House supported a bill.
In order to again avert a government shutdown, Mike Johnson was forced to use a suspension of the rules to pass a continuing resolution on November 14, 2023.
On November 15, 19 Freedom Caucus members joined with Democrats to block a rule vote on a bill funding the Justice Department.
[40][41] On January 7, 2024, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Johnson agreed to a $1.59 trillion topline spending deal.
[43] On January 10, twelve Freedom Caucus members joined Democrats to block a rule vote on an unrelated bill about electric cars in protest of the spending deal.
The bill funded the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Energy, Interior, Veterans Affairs, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development.
During debate on the bill, Jeffries emphasized the role of the bipartisan legislative coalition by stating, “We have a responsibility, not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans to defend democracy wherever it is at risk”.
[63] Following the votes to stave off a federal government shutdown and send foreign assistance abroad, the Associated Press said that Jeffries, as the minority leader, “might very well be the most powerful person in Congress right now.”[5] As the House continued to pass a series of key legislative victories that were supported by a majority of Democrats, far right Republicans continued to threaten to trigger another motion to vacate the chair, this time with Speaker Johnson targeted.
[70] Afterwards, Speaker Johnson put forwards a clean three-months continuing resolution, which was opposed by 82 Republicans but supported unanimously by Democrats.
[71][72] On December 17, 2024, leadership from the two parties reached an agreement on further short-term government expenditures, unveiling a bill that would have extended the previous continuing resolution's deadline to March 14, 2025, while also funding and renewing several federal programs.
[73] On December 19, President-elect Donald Trump issued a statement demanding the removal of additional spending (except for disaster relief and aid to farmers) and the suspension of the debt ceiling (due to be reached in 2025).