A group of six Senate Republicans, most of whom did not support Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell’s bid for leader last month, will continue being a thorn in his side for at least a little while longer.
The self-proclaimed “breakfast club” has been meeting in the mornings for some time now, and called for an official Republican conference meeting tomorrow morning to discuss principles and goals for the new Senate, according to two people familiar with the group’s plans.
The group includes Republican Senators Mike Lee, Utah; Lindsey Graham, S.C.; Rick Scott, Fla., Ron Johnson, Wisc.; Ted Cruz, Texas and — unofficially — Mike Braun, Ind., per the sources. According to GOP conference rules, just five Senators can call for a conference meeting. It is not clear that any others will attend tomorrow’s gathering.
Separately tonight, conservative Republicans (including some in the above group) will try to pass, by unanimous consent, a continuing resolution that would fund the government into 2023 and — by definition — the start of the new Congress when Republicans control the House.
This is expected to fail, as just one Senator can object to the request, and both party leaders want to pass an omnibus bill to fully fund the government next week.
