Congressman Tim Burchett once again votes against stopgap government funding bill

Knoxville's Rep. Tim Burchett once again voted against a stopgap measure bill that will keep the government funded after the Nov. 17 shutdown deadline. He was one of 93 GOP members to vote against the bipartisan effort.

The vote puts him again in the minority among his Republican colleagues, most of who voted yes.

“I don’t like kicking the can down the road. I like passing a real budget in budget hearings and not loading it up with everything Speaker Pelosi and Chuck Schumer wanted,” he said in a video posted to X after the vote. “The government will stay open and live to fight another day. I trust Speaker Johnson.”

The stopgap measure buys time for a broader agreement. It has two deadlines that would keep different parts of the government functioning until Jan. 19 and Feb. 2.

It doesn't include deep cuts that would have upset Democrats, which is important because new House Speaker Mike Johnson needs their votes. The bill now heads to the Senate.

On Capitol Hill: Rep. Tim Burchett says former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy hit him with a 'sucker punch'

Along with Burchett, House Freedom Caucus members said they wouldn't support the "clean" continuing resolution.

"It contains no spending reductions, no border security, and not a single meaningful win for the American People," the caucus said in a release.

Burchett is not a member of the caucus, but his views on this vote align.

"I'll give (Johnson) a little leeway, but I still don't support bad policy," he said befor ethe vote. He added that he would not block the measure from reaching the House floor for a vote, but did not support it in the end.

Could Mike Johnson face the same fate as Kevin McCarthy?

The initial stopgap measure that averted a shutdown passed Sept. 20, and former speaker Kevin McCarthy was voted out by Oct. 4.

Burchett is one of eight Republicans who sided with Democrats in declining to support McCarthy. The eight who voted against McCarthy said their tipping point was his decision to rely on Democrats to fund the government.

But this time around, Burchett said, he won't support a motion to vacate for Johnson even after he essentially did the same thing.

"This is an emergency situation. This is the only thing he could get through," Burchett said. "I don't think there's any movement afoot at all to remove Mike Johnson."

He said there isn't much anger at Johnson for proposing a stopgap measure, since Johnson was transparent about his plans.

"He has been honest about it and he's going about it in a forthright manner and I trust him."

Tim Burchett didn't vote for the last stopgap measure, either

If this all sounds familiar, that's because it is.

Burchett voted against the stopgap measure that averted a shutdown Sept. 30.

He said leadership knew their deadline, and "American people know they're getting hosed" when Congress delays funding.

That bill passed with a vote of 335-91. A bipartisan effort that was necessary because the vote needed a two-thirds majority.

Allie Feinberg reports on politics for Knox News. Email her: allie.feinberg@knoxnews.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @alliefeinberg.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Rep. Tim Burchett once again votes against government stopgap bill