The GOP-backed legislation would raise the debt ceiling next year, cut federal spending by billions of dollars and unwind some of President Biden’s priorities, including his repeal program. college student loan debt. It passed on a party-line vote in the House, but is considered a non-starter in the Democratic-led Senate, where it needs to get at least 60 votes.
In a statement, nearly three dozen lawmakers from the conservative caucus said the House “did its job” in passing the GOP bill to raise the debt ceiling before a catastrophic default. .
“This legislation is the official position of the House Freedom Caucus and, by passing it with 217 votes, the entire House Republican Conference,” members wrote in a statement asking McCarthy (R -Calif.) And Senate Republicans will “use every leverage. and tool at their disposal to ensure that the Limit, Save, Grow Act is signed into law.”
McCarthy, however, on Thursday told reporters that budget negotiations are continuing and that he hopes to have a vote next week in the House on an agreement. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (DN.Y.) said the Senate will leave town for a planned recess but is prepared to return on short notice to take up the legislation.
The statement by the House Freedom Caucus was an improvement after a week in which McCarthy took endless opportunities to express the unity that exists among House Republicans and has been expanded by some in the Senate to include planks. in the legislation passed by the House earlier this month.
Privately, many conservative lawmakers are beginning to fear that their demands will be steamrolled into a bipartisan deal with Democrats. Negotiators have narrowed the frame of discussions to find a compromise to allow reform, increase work requirements and cut spending, which is far less than what hardline conservatives want. get out of a debt limit agreement.
The idea from some more moderate Republicans that they could pass a deal with House Democrats if members of the conservative caucus defect has angered some in recent days. If McCarthy ignores their demands, it could be a breach of trust, many conservatives have privately stressed.
The two parties, on the other hand, are racing to solve a political emergency, because the “X-date” – the day when Washington will run out of money to pay government bills on time – will be will come on June 1, according to the Department of the Treasury. The government has reached the current debt limit of about $31.4 trillion, but it relies on special, temporary accounting maneuvers to delay the need to borrow more.
Two tense meetings between Biden and top congressional leaders ended only with a promise to keep talking — and an announcement Tuesday that they were appointing new emissaries to broker a compromise.
The House Freedom Caucus, however, seemed unmoved by McCarthy’s efforts. With the government divided — and only Republicans holding a narrow, dangerous advantage in the chamber — the bloc of conservative Republicans has transformed from an angry minority faction into a controlling legislative force.
The majority group behind the creation of the “Limit, Save, Grow Act,” pressured McCarthy at the last minute to change it – even after he promised he wouldn’t.
After the House passed the bill, the caucus declared victory but vowed to push harder for aggressive spending cuts, targeting everything from workplace safety inspections to federal college aid in the future. months.
On the floor of the House on Thursday, Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) said Senate Republicans should “hold the line” by doing “their job and [avoiding] whatever the consequences may be for reaching the debt limit” by passing the GOP-backed measure.
Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, said the Freedom Caucus’ move shows the group is “pro-default.”
“These MAGA extremists will not rest until they have made America a dead country or inflicted the brutal dismemberment of American families,” Boyle said. “This is exactly why I’m filing a discharge petition to make sure we avoid default, pay our bills, and save our economy.”
Rachel Siegel contributed to this report.
