End of the conservative blockade in the House (for now)

Kevin McCarthy and the conservatives who had revolted against him a few days ago ended their feud on Monday. After the initial hostility, both parties met at the spokesperson's office and resolved their differences...for now. McCarthy accepted their conditions, and the House of Representatives will return to normal operations. However, the legislators did not rule out returning to this "strike" in the coming weeks.

To contextualize the situation, eleven conservative members of the Lower House blocked a series of bills on June 6 to prevent them from being voted on. After 50 minutes of discussion Steve Scalise, the majority leader, joined Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Dan Bishop (NC), Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Ken Buck (Colo.), Tim Burchett (Tenn.), Eli Crane (Ariz.), Bob Good (Virginia), Ralph Norman (SC), Matt Rosendale (Mont.), Chip Roy (Texas) and Matt Gaetz (Florida) in a joint effort to hold up the process, something that of course did not sit well with the Speaker.

The claim was clarified by Gaetz, who later stated that the group is "frustrated with the way this place works," referring to what was given up to reach thedeal with Joe Biden. "We took a stand in January to end the era of the imperial Speakership, and we’re concerned that the fundamental commitments that allowed Kevin McCarthy to assume the Speakership have been violated as a consequence of the debt limit deal," he added.

Dubbed by the media as a "revolt," it lasted almost a week until it ended momentarily on Monday afternoon. The truce came after McCarthy pledged to reevaluate the deal he struck with conservatives in January when they complicated his election as Speaker. Specifically, he will review its impact on the House agenda and bipartisan agreements and push even harder for reduced government spending. In exchange, the group will unblock the projects it halted last week, such as gas stoves and gun braces.

"The floor will be functioning this week," Rosendale told reporters as he left the meeting. "We aired our issues. We want to see this move forward as a body," Norman, one of the most vehement opponents of the Speaker, said.

However, McCarthy cannot yet claim victory. Members of the group threatened to resume the blockade in the not-too-distant future. "There’ll be more votes next week, and more rules, and if there’s not a renegotiated power-sharing agreement then perhaps we’ll be back here next week,” Gaetz said. “That’s not our goal; our goal is to continue to build off the momentum of this discussion we’ve just had," Gaetz anticipated.