9:57 pm ET, June 1, 2023
The senators defended their support of the debt ceiling deal
From CNN’s Morgan Rimmer and Manu Raju
Sen. Peter Welch, Sen. Joni Ernst, and Sen. Mitt Romney.
Mariam Zuhaib/AP; Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/Bonnie Cash/Reuters
Senators from both parties on Thursday night defended their decision to support the debt ceiling deal, despite their concerns about the legislation.
Sen. Peter Welch, a Democrat, noted that while he has some concerns about the deal, he plans to vote for it anyway. He said his “biggest concern” is that there is no default.
“We need to pay our bills in full and on time,” the Vermont senator said. “I want to remove the debt ceiling, because this hostage system has become institutionalized, very dangerous for the country. So, bottom line, we have to pay our bills.”
On the concessions made by the White House to negotiate, Welch said, “I don’t want any of them, but the good news is that we preserved and protected all the great initiatives of the Biden administration last year. But no , I don’t like it.”
However, he said the administration is handling the negotiations, “just right.”
The. Joni Ernst said he is concerned about the defense spending bill, but he thinks “these are things we can overcome.”
“We have to do something to control spending, and I think this is a good first step. I think that Kevin McCarthy negotiated a good deal – for now,” said the Iowa Republican. “It’s not a perfect bill, but I think it’s a better situation than what we had, maybe, a few months ago.”
late. Mitt Romney, a fellow Republican, said the passage of this bill is better than the alternatives of a clean increase in the debt ceiling or a default.
“There are some positive things about this bill. Is it better than a pure increase in the debt limit? Yes. Is it better than default? Better than default. So this is a step forward,” the Utah senator said. “Was it a home run? No. It might have been a single, it might have been a double, but I don’t think anybody expected Kevin McCarthy to give up any base runners, and he has .
