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Congress averted a government shutdown with days to spare. The way lawmakers did it — by leaving out deep spending cuts and relying on a bipartisan coalition to pass the bill — has already put House Speaker Mike Johnson on thin ice with some hardliners in his party.

That disdain for compromise among members of the right flank of the GOP are the very factors that cost the previous speaker his job. 

None of the infighting came as a surprise to former Representative Denver Riggleman, who served one term in Congress as a Republican for Virginia’s fifth congressional district before losing a primary challenge from a more conservative candidate. 

Like many in his party, Riggleman supported small government, the Second Amendment, and border security — but he also supported legalizing marijuana and providing some exceptions for abortion.

“I was told I was a new type of Republican,” Riggleman said on the Big Take podcast.

After he was sworn into Congress in January 2019, he voted mostly along party lines. In some cases, however, he prioritized what constituents asked of him, even if it meant disagreeing with party leadership. For instance, after speaking with a local peach producer, he backed a visa program for temporary agricultural workers from overseas, despite widespread Republican opposition.

Partway through his term, Riggleman agreed to officiate a same-sex wedding for his friends, a Republican couple who had volunteered on his campaign.

He recalled the conversation. “They said, ‘We know we're both men. But is it something you would do?’ And without hesitation, I'm like, ‘Why not?’”

The blowback began before Riggleman officiated the wedding, and intensified in the days after.

“My email exploded, my phone exploded, the committees called,” he said. “I was actually asked to do a public apology to the Christians in the district for betraying them.”

Angry constituents took the lug nuts off his car tires and circulated conspiracy theories about him. His fellow Virginia Republicans voted to censure him, and other politicians criticized him behind closed doors.

When he was up for reelection, his state GOP held a convention and voted to back his primary challenger.

“The parties do control how people are actually put in office, and I think it's a real detriment to the American people,” Riggleman said. “It's going to be harder and harder for compromise.”

The next government funding fight will only be resolved through compromise, a theme that will persist through 2024.

Hear the rest of the conversation on iHeart, Apple Podcasts, Spotify.

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This episode was produced by: Julia Press and Anna Mazarakis

Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin

Editors: Mike Shepard, Wendy Benjaminson, Caitlin Kenney

Executive Producer: Sage Bauman

Sound Design/Engineer: Blake Maples

Fact-checker: Aashna Shah

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