A group of House conservatives has banded together to oppose the debt ceiling “deal” reached between Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California and Democratic President Joe Biden because they don’t believe it cuts enough spending or seriously addresses the nation’s mounting debt.
Taking the lead in opposing the compromise deal, which proposes the suspension of the debt limit until January 2025 along with several spending constraints, is the conservative House Freedom Caucus. The group of 20 believes that the agreement has been diluted too much and, worse for McCarthy, if their opposition remains steadfast, Republican leaders will have to seek Democratic votes to pass the deal.
“This deal fails, fails completely,” Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA), chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, said at a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday.
“We will do everything in our power to stop it and end it now,” he added.
“Not one Republican should vote for this deal,” said Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), another caucus member.
“No one sent us here to borrow an additional $4 trillion to get absolutely nothing in return,” he added.
Roy said the Speaker’s deal with the White House is, “at best if I’m being really generous,” offers “a spending freeze for a couple years.”
Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC), put his fellow GOP colleagues on notice: “This is a career-defining vote for every Republican.”
Bishop also suggested employing the motion to vacate the chair as an option. According to the existing House rules, a single member can initiate a vote that potentially removes the speaker, but for the motion to be successful, a simple majority is required, the Daily Wire noted.
The Fiscal Responsibility Act, whose full text can be accessed online, emerged from an “agreement in principle” established between President Joe Biden and McCarthy over the weekend following weeks of negotiations. The proposed legislation underwent its initial significant examination in the House Rules Committee on Tuesday, where numerous amendments from both Republicans and Democrats were already been put forward.
That said, the deal is off and running, at least.
“The House Rules Committee approved the terms of debate for the legislation by implementing that agreement in a 7-6 vote Tuesday evening. A successful vote wasn’t a sure thing, as three Republican members of the committee had indicated either opposition or possible opposition to the agreement,” Fox News reported late in the evening.
“In the final committee vote, only Reps. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., and Chip Roy, R-Texas, voted against it, along with all four Democrats. That allowed it to pass and set up votes on the House floor Wednesday,” the report added.
