Bachmann and King attended the caucus, which was organized by TheTeaparty.net. Tea partiers debate new shutdown

Conservative leaders from more than a dozen outside groups warned congressional Tea Party Caucus members against another government shutdown.

A heated discussion broke out Wednesday at a closed-door Tea Party Caucus meeting organized by the group TheTeaParty.net, according to a source in the room.


The consensus in the meeting was that House Republicans should work to avoid another government funding fight when current funding levels expire on Jan. 15 — “though there was a vocal minority cheering it on,” according to an attendee who was not authorized to speak about an off-the-record meeting.

( Also on POLITICO: Hill tea party’s next target: Obama’s trade agenda)

The pro-shutdown contingent said that a second shutdown fight could be won with better GOP messaging.

The current continuing resolution funding the government runs through Jan. 15, and the leaders of both parties have vowed to work together to agree on a longer-term budget deal. Absent a budget deal or another continuing resolution, the government could be poised for another shutdown.

But members of prominent conservative outside groups warned the Tea Party Caucus against a repeat of October’s 16-day impasse over government funding, warning that the shutdown fight was the Democrat’s best chance to recapture the House.

Conservative groups also noted that the debate over the Affordable Care Act is likely to intensify if premiums rise in 2014 and website problems continue.

“Why create a distraction?” the attendee told POLITICO about the consensus.

( Also on POLITICO: GOP super PACs gear up to fight tea party)

Other attendees at the meeting included leaders and consultants to major conservative outside groups like Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform, and representatives from FreedomWorks, Tea Party Express, Citizens Against Government Waste and others.

GOP Reps. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, Steve King of Iowa, Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina, Jim Bridenstine of Oklahoma and more than a dozen other conservative lawmakers were in attendance.

“The tea party has a voice on Capitol Hill,” TheTeaParty.net founder Todd Cefaratti said of the meeting. “This was a chance for conservative groups to exchange ideas with members.”

”This is what responsive government looks like. All of us in the conservative movement may have different ways of getting there, but the destination is the same: a government bound by the Constitution and the will of the people, not one committed to an ever-expanding welfare state,” Cefaratti said.