U.S. Representative Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-01) said on Monday that the continuing resolution (CR) passed by Republicans in the House that would freeze government funding levels while extending funding for six months is a “very good” opportunity for Congress to begin reversing the trend of unchecked spending in the federal government, showing that President Donald Trump is leading the national agenda toward cuts.
During a Tuesday appearance on “The John Fredericks Show,” Harshbarger said the CR represented an effort to freeze government spending ahead of future cuts suggested to Congress by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“This bill reduces and will freeze spending for the next six months,” Harshbarger told John Fredericks, the publisher of The Virginia Star, The Pennsylvania Daily Star, and Georgia Star News.
Harshbarger also noted the CR earned support from the House Freedom Caucus, of which she is a member, and said the endorsement should assuage concerns about the decision to temporarily freeze funding rather than pursue cuts.
“You always think of a continuing resolution as bad, but honestly, in this case, this is good, and when you get the Freedom Cacucus to put out a statement saying they support it?” She told Fredericks, “Look, we’re driving the agenda to cut and begin to bend that spending curve, and all of that is a good thing.”
Questioned about Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY-04), who voted against the resolution, Harshbarger attributed the Kentuckian’s intractability to his personality.
“You’re going to have people who, just on principle alone, will vote no, and that’s Thomas. That’s just the way he’s built and I hate it. There’s things that are good about him, and things that I’m like, ‘What the heck, Thomas?'”
Harshbarger later added, “For Thomas Massie to say no, that’s just Thomas Massie.”
The Tennessee Republican also suggested other Republicans have either kept their reservations to themselves or publicly indicated they will vote for the CR in order to prevent reprisals from the president, who has vowed to support the primary candidate challenging Massie next year in response to the congressman’s opposition to Trump’s agenda.
“It makes me wonder if they just don’t want a call from the president. You know what, if I had a call for the president because I was voting to stop his America First agenda, I’m not going to be on the good list, I’m going to be on the naughty list, and that’s exactly what’s happening,” said Harshbarger. “He was calling yesterday, and he’s going to continue to call people who think they know better than the rest of us what’s going to happen.”
Of their objections to the CR, Harshbarger told Fredericks, “Honestly, if you can reduce or freeze spending, that’s a very good thing. The six months will give us time to go through and let DOGE finish looking at these federal agencies and go down deep to find out where the fraud, waste, and abuse is. What is wrong with that?”
Watch Harshbarger’s full interview:
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
