US Representative Chip Roy (R-TX) talks to members of the media as he leaves the House Republican Caucus Candidates Forum to run for GOP conference chair, the third ranking leadership position, on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, May 13, 2021. .
Evelyn Hochstein | reuters
After tough negotiations to reach a tentative agreement with the White House on the US borrowing limit, the next challenge for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is pushing it through the House, where hardline Republicans are already threatening to sink it. Are.
As Democratic and Republican negotiators iron out the final details of a deal to suspend the federal government’s $31.4 trillion debt limit in the coming days, McCarthy may be forced to do some behind-the-scenes wrangling.
Representative Chip Roy, a prominent member of the hardline House Freedom Caucus, said on Twitter “we’re going to try” to stop it from passing the House. House and Senate Republicans were critical of the deal’s deadline and looming terms.
Failure by Congress to deal with its own set debt limit before June 5 could trigger a default that would roil financial markets and send the United States into a deep recession.
Republicans control the House 222–213, while Democrats control the Senate 51–49. These margins mean that moderates on both sides would have to support the bill, as any compromise would almost certainly lose the support of the extreme left and extreme right of each party.
In order to win the Speaker’s gavel, McCarthy agreed to enable any one member to vote on whether he wished to work with the Democrats, which could lead to his expulsion.
Roy complained on Twitter on Sunday that the compromise would preserve the expansion of the tax-collecting Internal Revenue Service when Democrats controlled both chambers of Congress.
Senator Lindsey Graham also expressed concern about the agreement’s potential impact on US defense and Washington’s support for Ukraine.
Graham tweeted, “Do not intend to default on debt, but will not support a deal that reduces the size of the Navy and freezes continued technical and weapons aid to Ukraine.”
Republican Senator Mike Lee said on Twitter, “Punting on your opponent’s one-yard line is not a winning strategy.”
The deal suspends the debt ceiling until January 2025 in exchange for caps on spending and cuts in government programs after the November 2024 presidential election.
Representative Dan Bishop and other hardline Republicans were sharply critical of the details of the initial deal, which suggest Biden has successfully pushed back many of the cost-cutting demands on Saturday, signaling that McCarthy may need to win votes. There may be a problem.
Bishop said, “Full dedication in progress. Holding cards to the side.”
Progressive Democrats in both houses have said they would not support any deal that would require additional work. Sources say the deal adds work requirements for people aged 50 to 54 to Food Assistance.
The deal would boost spending on the military and veterans care, and cap it for a number of discretionary domestic programs, according to sources familiar with the talks. But Republicans and Democrats will have to do battle in the coming months, because the deal doesn’t specify them.
Republicans have rejected Biden’s proposed tax hikes, and neither side has shown a willingness to take on rapidly expanding health and retirement programs that will rapidly increase the debt in coming years.
Several credit-rating agencies have placed the United States on review for a possible downgrade, which would raise borrowing costs and undermine its status as the backbone of the global financial system.
