Joe Biden, the president, and Kevin McCarthy, the speaker of the house, talked themselves into believing they had reached a compromise agreement to reduce government expenditure and raise revenue to replace the nearly depleted Treasury.
Even more difficult is getting them to agree to eat what one Republican, Texas Representative Chip Roy, called a “turd sandwich.”
Contemptible resoluteness Conservative Republicans like Roy think McCarthy promised behind their backs to grant them veto power over all legislation they disagree with. McCarthy’s supporters, though, remember things differently.
On Memorial Day, the conservatives spent hours poring over the 99 pages of the debt ceiling bill, line by line, and publicly questioning why McCarthy was unable to secure more concessions and cuts than two years of caps on non-defense discretionary spending.
Debt Limitation Bill Text
Liberal House Democrats are also unhappy with Biden’s bargaining, so the worries aren’t limited to one side of the political spectrum. The difficulty that Washington’s top negotiators will have in selling this compromise to the far left and right edges of their respective parties is highlighted by the fact that the same arguments Biden may use to mollify progressives will turn off Republicans.
Tuesday is the first exam.
Starting on Tuesday, the bill will face a slew of votes in the influential House Rules Committee. The bill could reach a final vote in the House on Thursday if it can get past any remaining obstacles. When it reaches the Senate, it will meet a fresh group of opponents.
Roy is one of three conservative Republicans McCarthy appointed to the panel that decides which bills reach the House floor. In most cases, the panel merely acts as a rubber stamp for the presenter. No more. Back in January, when McCarthy was trying to win enough votes to become speaker, he made the compromise of transferring power to the hardliners, including Roy and Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Ralph Norman of South Carolina.
Members of the House Freedom Caucus Roy and Norman have both spoken out against the debt settlement, but Massie has remained silent.
What authority did McCarthy grant to the Freedom Caucus?
In addition, Roy thinks McCarthy and the other two hardliners agreed in a January handshake pact that they could prevent any legislation or regulation that any of them didn’t like from going before the whole House.
Roy tweeted, “A reminder that it was explicit both that nothing would pass Rules Committee without AT LEAST 7 GOP votes – AND the Committee would not allow reporting out rules without unanimous Republican votes during Speaker negotiations to build the coalition.”
AWN’s Capitol Hill team reports that the second half of Roy’s claim—that any one Republican might obstruct legislation in the Rules Committee—was disputed by senior GOP sources.
To send the debt plan to the full house in violation of McCarthy’s perceived deal with the hardliners may trigger a mutiny among Freedom Caucus members and put McCarthy’s shaky hold on the speaker’s gavel in jeopardy. (Remember, too, that McCarthy gave up something else in order to win the gavel back in January; now, any single member can bring a vote to remove the speaker from office.) Whether or not Massie backs the debt arrangement or joins Roy and Norman in trashing it is crucial.
Unless significant adjustments are made to the bipartisan arrangement, Norman informed AWN he would vote against the rule. The six criteria he made in a weekend text message suggest he will vote against any bill that Democrats could back.
“Bottom line, if the debt limit is raised above the 1.5 level, and if the timeline extends to 2025, IF the student loan payout is still intact, IF the IRS agent funding is still there, IF the provisions in the IRA are still intact, IF the work requirement EXCLUDES MEDICAID, I will vote against the rule,” he said over the weekend.
See also: What’s in the agreement to raise the debt ceiling
Team Biden: Please pay close attention to what is not being slashed.
Two sources told AWN on Monday that Republicans are confident they can secure at least 150 votes among House GOP members. However, any debt solution is likely going to need the support of Democrats due to the fact that several Republicans are expected to vote against it.
In discussions with Democrats, White House officials defended the agreement and urged sceptical lawmakers to instead focus on the programmes that would be spared from cuts. And on Monday, they got some good news when the bill’s sponsor announced the backing of the moderate New Democrat Coalition’s chair.
While the White House decided to talk with McCarthy using the borrowing ceiling as leverage, some Democrats were displeased with the move on Sunday.
Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, warned the White House to be wary of progressives ultimately turning against the measure in an interview with AWN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” before the legislative text was released.
The Democrat from Washington state and others were dissatisfied with Biden because, while he was able to keep a plan for federal work requirements for people to qualify for Medicaid coverage out of the measure, he did allow for temporary additional work requirements for certain people who obtain government food assistance. Veterans, the homeless, and former foster youngsters would all benefit from the bill’s expansion of exclusions from these standards.
On Monday, when asked if he could win over progressives, Biden replied, “I don’t know.”
My connection to Jayapal is positive. When asked about his plans to visit Delaware, he said, “I haven’t had a chance to speak with her yet.” He was speaking from the White House.
There isn’t much time for arguing about minor details. To get an idea of how broke the United States is right now, consider the fact that there are numerous billionaires who have more money than the Treasury. Early in June, payments are due, and the newest estimated X date, when the United States would not be able to meet all of its obligations, is June 5.
