A handful of right-wing Republican lawmakers said Monday they would oppose deal to raise the United States’ $31.4 trillion debt limit, in a sign that the bipartisan deal could face a rocky path through Congress before the US runs out of money next week.
Although expected, the opposition shows the hurdles Democratic President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy will have to overcome to see the package through to the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a candidate for the Republican 2024 presidential nomination, said the deal did not do enough to change the fiscal trajectory. “After this deal, our country will still be teetering on bankruptcy,” he said on Fox News.
Still, backers predicted Congress would clear it before the United States runs out of money to pay its bills, which the Treasury Department says will happen on June 5.
Republican Representative Dusty Johnson said, “This thing will absolutely pass. There’s no question about it.” He said he had spoken to dozens of fellow MPs.
Biden said he was also working on the phone. “It looks good. We will see when the polling will start,” he told reporters.
99 page bill would suspend the debt ceiling until January 1, 2025, allowing lawmakers to set aside the politically risky issue until after the November 2024 presidential election. It would also limit some government spending over the next two years.
A crucial first test will take place on Tuesday, when the House Rules Committee will consider the bill in a necessary first step before the full House can vote on it. Although the panel is generally closely aligned with the House leadership, McCarthy was forced to include some skeptical conservatives in order to win the Speaker’s gavel.
One of those conservatives, Representative Chip Roy, said Tuesday that he does not support the bill.
Roy wrote on Twitter, “This is not a good deal. Some $4 trillion in debt with – at best – two years of a spending freeze and no serious policy reform.”
Another panel member, Ralph Norman, has already come out against the agreement.
McCarthy told reporters on Monday that he was not worried about the package’s prospects in committee.
In the Senate, Republican Mike Lee also came out against the bill, which could point to a tough vote there, where any member has the power to delay action for days. Democrats control the Senate 51-49.
McCarthy predicted it would gain the support of most of his fellow Republicans, who control the House 222-213. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he expects support from his side of the aisle — though many in his party may vote “no” as well.
Representative Raul Grijalva, a progressive Democrat, wrote on Twitter that the bill’s changes to environmental regulations were “disturbing and extremely disappointing”.
Grijalva was referring to an element of the bill that would speed up the process of granting permissions for some energy projects. The bill would also freeze unused COVID-19 funds, and impose stricter work requirements for food assistance programs for poor Americans.
Although White House officials say it will shift some funding away from the tax-collecting Internal Revenue Service enforcement should not be reduced In the near future.
Initial Feedback has been positive From the financial markets, which would be thrown into chaos if the United States were unable to make payments on its securities, which form the basis of the global financial system.
But some investors are wary that McCarthy’s safe spending cuts could hurt US growth. Investors are also bracing for potential volatility in the US bond market.
Republicans have argued that drastic cuts in spending are necessary to curb the growth of the national debt, which is roughly equal to the $31.4 trillion economy’s annual output.
Interest payments on that debt are projected to eat up a growing share of the budget in coming decades, according to government forecasts, as an aging population drives up health and retirement costs.
The deal will do nothing to rein in those burgeoning programs. Most of the savings would come by limiting spending on housing, border controls, scientific research, and other types of domestic programs. “discretionary spending, An increase in military spending would be allowed over the next two years.
