Freedom Caucus pushes a funding freeze. reports of a year-long lock through the 2026 midterms are unverified

Rep. Andy Harris serves as chair of the House Freedom Caucus; he was elected chairman on Sept. 17, 2024 and has pressed for lower spending and strict caps.

The FY2024 statutory base discretionary cap was set at $1.59 trillion. Adjustments increased enacted discretionary budget authority to about $1.74 trillion for FY2024.

Congress faces the fiscal year funding deadline on Sept. 30, 2025; Speaker and caucus negotiations in 2025 centered on stopgap measures and caps, not an administratively sealed freeze running through Dec. 2026.

Previous long shutdowns include combined shutdowns in 1995–1996 (totaling about 26 days) led by House Republican leadership at the time, and the partial 35-day shutdown in 2018–2019; CBO estimated the 2018–2019 shutdown cost the economy at least $11 billion, including about $3 billion in permanent losses.

Several Freedom Caucus members announced statewide campaigns in 2025 (for example, Chip Roy, Barry Moore, Ralph Norman, and Andy Biggs), which will change caucus membership heading into the 2026 cycle but do not by themselves prove an institutional collapse.