President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) came to an agreement in principle on Saturday over the country’s precarious debt situation. Just days before a looming default, the deal is set to raise the debt ceiling for two more years until after the next presidential election.
McCarthy and Biden are both touting the deal as a win, stating that no one gets everything they want. But many conservatives in the House and Senate say the deal is nothing more than a surrender to Democrats.
Congressman Chip Roy (R-TX) tweeted:
1st - the leadership playbook is to line up cheerleading on phone calls to demonstrate “unity.” 2nd, not 95% - I know of more no’s than that already. 3rd - they haven’t been educated yet on what a turd-sandwich this “deal” is. They will be.
McCarthy claimed that “more than 95 percent of all those in the conference were very excited” about the deal. Rep. Roy, along with several other displeased representatives, pushed back on Twitter, ripping the deal as unacceptable.
Roy also replied directly to a McCarthy tweet that said the deal is a “responsible debt limit that cuts spending.”
I wish that were true. $4 Trillion for keeping (effectively) bloated 2023 spending levels & maintenance of the Democrats’ wish list - crony IRA unreliable energy subsidies stay, IRS expansion 98% stays, work requirements weak and don’t apply to Medicaid. . .
Twitter’s new fact-checking feature called “Community Notes” also added context to McCarthy’s tweet, saying, “The debt limit deal does not cut spending. Rather, it limits the increase of spending.”
Congressman Roy is not the only republican to object. Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC) tweeted:
Heard the call. RINOs congratulating McCarthy for getting almost zippo in exchange for $4T debt ceiling hike was enough to make you 🤮.
(Actually, it’s so bad they won’t give a figure for the debt ceiling hike … only that it’s suspended til Q1 2025. Our bill was a year less.)
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) also chimed in, tweeting that she plans to vote “no” on the deal:
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.
Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) called the deal a “debt ceiling surrender” and emphasized that “the U.S. will have $35 trillion of debt in January, 2025.”
The deal text was released on Sunday night and now, McCarthy is working to ensure Republicans have enough votes this week. Some of the items in the deal include raising the debt ceiling for two more years and a 1% cap on non-defense spending increases for 2025. It also includes roughly $28 billion in COVID-19 funding clawbacks and rescinds $1.4 billion in IRS funding.
There are also expanded age limits for food stamp work requirements. New requirements would require any childless, able-bodied adult between 18 and 55 to be employed at least 20 hours per week to get food stamps.
There are also some democrats who are unimpressed with the deal. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) stated that democrats shouldn’t count on total party support. She tweeted:
The debt ceiling is about paying our previous bills, and this entire charade has shown that our country’s obligations should never be in doubt.
We should suspend the debt ceiling permanently and make sure extreme MAGA Republicans can never hold our economy hostage again.
If the bill can pass the House, it will go to the Senate. Senator Mike Lee (R-U) has threatened to delay the deal with procedural maneuvers. Treasury Department Secretary Janet Yellen has set June 5 as a deadline for a potential default on the country’s bills. If Congress cannot come to a deal very soon, the US may face the first default in history.
