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 The views of a handful of first-term conservatives who spoke with
Reuters after the Department of Homeland Security battle suggest
more conflict among Republicans lies ahead.
At the core of these House of Representatives members' defiance is a
conviction that their duty as lawmakers lies first with constituents
and the Constitution, while House Speaker John Boehner's agenda
comes further down the list.
For Boehner, who was stunningly rebuked last week by these same
conservatives in a pivotal vote, unifying his party for tough fiscal
challenges ahead may be more difficult than ever.
"My job's not to demand where leadership should or shouldn't be.
That's not even on my radar," said Representative Jody Hice of
Georgia. "My job is to represent the people in my district."
 A Baptist preacher who gained fame hosting a conservative talk-radio
show, Hice was one of the six freshmen among 52 Republicans who
voted last week to sink Boehner's last-ditch plan for a three-week
extension of Homeland Security funding.
Hice and others wanted funding for the department to be contingent
on blocking Democratic President Barack Obama's recent executive
orders lifting the threat of deportation against millions of
undocumented immigrants.
Their demand was blocked by Senate Democrats, delaying approval of
funding for the anti-terrorism agency for weeks, then ultimately
dropped in legislation Boehner and Democrats pushed through to fund
the department with no conditions.
Representative Barry Loudermilk, another new conservative from
Georgia, said many of his constituents saw Obama's order as both a
violation of Congress' powers under the Constitution and an unfair
issuance of work permits to 5 million illegal immigrants who would
compete with them for jobs.
"A lot of our colleagues felt this was an oath-of-office vote to
uphold the Constitution," he said.
The Obama administration insists it acted legally, although a
federal judge has temporarily halted implementation.
'WE OWN BOTH HOUSES'
Representative Dave Brat, a small-college economics professor from
Virginia, said he, like others, supported Boehner until it became
apparent the speaker would back down on the immigration demands. "I
am highly skeptical that we couldn't have found a way. We own both
houses - and we lost," Brat said.
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Several of the freshmen are joining an aggressive new bloc of House
conservatives known as the Freedom Caucus, whose founding members
were among the recent Republican dissenters.
Boehner and more moderate Republicans are not taking the challenge
on their right flank lightly. An outside Republican group aligned
with Boehner ran internet and broadcast ads against some of the
conservatives this week, saying they were putting domestic security
at risk.
The American Action Network had budgeted $400,000 for the campaign,
but said the ads stopped when the security agency funding was
approved on Tuesday. The group said the effort is the beginning of a
multi-million dollar effort to promote "center-right priorities."
These will likely include a transportation funding debate, a
mid-year fight over the future of the Export-Import Bank, and a
battle over raising the debt limit and approving a budget.
The campaign counters well-financed conservative groups such as Club
for Growth and Heritage Action, which have often urged Republicans
to vote against major spending compromises and have financed more
conservative candidates to challenge incumbents.
Representative Tom Cole, an Oklahoma moderate close to Boehner, said
the new conservatives should read the Constitution and realize "we
don't get to make the Senate do what we want."
They "need to dial back their expectations to realistic levels. I
also think leaders should maybe not satisfy every demand," Cole
said.
(Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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