Rep. Dan Bishop of North Carolina summed up the sentiment of many Republicans on the debt ceiling deal between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Team Biden: "Utter capitulation in progress. By the side holding the cards."
The deal suspends the debt ceiling until January 2025 while increasing spending on the military and veterans' care, and capping it for many discretionary domestic programs, Reuters reported, citing to sources familiar with debt ceiling talks.
McCarthy also told Fox News that the deal includes a "paygo" measure that requires the Biden administration to ensure that new spending does not increase the deficit. The deal would also impose a 1% across-the-board spending cut should Congress fail to enact 12 appropriations bills by Oct. 1.
"This is a good strong bill that a majority of Republicans will vote for," McCarthy told reporters in the U.S. Capitol. "You're going to have Republicans and Democrats be able to move this" to Joe Biden's desk.
Freedom Caucus members said they would try to prevent the agreement from passing the House in a vote expected on Wednesday. "We're going to try," Rep. Chip Roy of Texas said.
"There are members of the GOP claiming Democrats got nothing from the 'deal,' Roy tweeted. "Oh really?"
Roy went on to list just a few of the things Democrats got from the majority party.
1) An uncapped debt ceiling with an expiration date — worth approximately $4 trillion…?
2) Basically no cuts — a freeze at bloated 2023 spending level?
3) ZERO claw back of the $1.2 Trillion “inflation reduction act” crony giveaways to elite leftists for grid-destroying unreliable energy…?
4) 98% of the IRS expansion left fully in place…?
5) No work requirements for Medicaid? — & only age adjustments for TANF/SNAP…?
6) No REINS act statutory requirement for Congress to approve huge regulations — just an “administrative” paygo that the administration will get to enforce?
7) No border security!! — & a deal allowing them to avoid policy riders in the fall.
Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina described the deal as “insanity,” tweeting: “A $4T debt ceiling increase with virtually no cuts is not what we agreed to. Not gonna vote to bankrupt our country. The American people deserve better.”
Rep. Bob Good of Virginia also slammed the proposed $4 trillion increase to the debt limit, tweeting, “IF that is true, I don’t need to hear anything else. No one claiming to be a conservative could justify a YES vote.”
Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado tweeted: “Our base didn’t volunteer, door knock and fight so hard to get us the majority for this kind of compromise deal with Joe Biden. Our voters deserve better than this. We work for them. You can count me as a NO on this deal. We can do better.”
In order to win the speaker's gavel, McCarthy agreed to enable any single House member to call for a vote to unseat him, potentially making him vulnerable to ouster by disgruntled Republicans. The speaker said he was "not at all" concerned about that possibility.
Top Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon told Newsweek the agreement is "not acceptable" for conservatives, warning that it will add another $4 to 5 trillion to the national debt by the time the U.S. approaches the next limit in 2025, regardless of any "marginal, small cuts" in the bill.
"This bill almost guarantees you $4 trillion with no cuts. It's dead on arrival. Any Republican that votes for this—they should primary them because this is nothing but a set of small optics compared to the real problem," Bannon said. "The problem that this exacerbates the debt problem because it takes off any limits to what can be added to the debt ceiling. There's no number, and we know it's for two years."
Bannon said a "vacate to motion" will likely be brought up against McCarthy if the bill passes.
"This shows no leadership whatsoever," Bannon added.
It's a new day in Congress. Republicans are changing the direction of Washington with a responsible debt limit that cuts spending, re-establishes work requirements, and claws back tens of billions in unspent COVID funds.
News conference at 10am ET: https://t.co/ZbCzklhtDL — Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) May 28, 2023
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