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Biden and McCarthy debt ceiling deal now faces battle to get through the House
Good morning.
Joe Biden and Kevin McCarthy’s debt ceiling agreement has come after a months-long stalemate and stalled negotiations on both sides. And it is not out of the woods yet.
The deal now faces scrutiny from House members – amid reports of criticism from both sides.
Unveiled Sunday, the deal will raise the country’s $34.1tn borrowing limit and include caps on government spending and policy changes to federal aid programs.
The compromise still needs to pass the House and Senate before 5 June, when the US could default.
Far-right Republicans have said they will vote against the deal. Some conservatives argue that the compromise doesn’t go far enough to reduce spending or target Democratic legislation, such as Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan.
For now, amidst the discontentment, lawmakers say it is unlikely that party members will call for McCarthy to step down from his position as House speaker.
Meanwhile, progressive legislators are also unhappy with the latest debt ceiling plan. Many have criticized Biden for negotiating with Republicans under the threat of a default and including work requirements for federal assistance in the deal.
Here’s what’s happening today:
12pm Members of the House Freedom Caucus will hold a news conference outside the Capitol.
3pm The House Rules Committee meets to prepare the bill to be debated.
6.30pm Congress will vote on unrelated bills. It will give Democrat and Republican whips a first chance to count votes in person.
7.30pm House Republican leaders will host a closed-door meeting.
Key events
North Dakota governor Doug Burgum is expected to announce his campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, the Associated Press reports.
Two Republicans with knowledge on Burgum’s plans told AP that the governor will announce his candidacy on 7 June during an event in Fargo, Burgum’s hometown.
The two operative spoked to AP anonymously as the event has not been publicized yet.
Burgum has been governor of North Dakota since 2016.
The 66-year-old would be joining a crowded field for the Republican presidential nomination, facing off against Donald Trump, Florida governor Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina governor Nikki Hayley, and other candidates.
As Biden and McCarthy rush to get votes for the debt ceiling agreement before the 5 June default deadline, more Republicans are publicly opposing the deal.
Florida lawmaker Cory Mills said he will be voting ‘no’ on the compromise, noting that spending cuts that are apart of the bill don’t go far enough.
From Punchbowl News’ Mica Soellner:
Florida Republican Cory Mills now among growing list of Republicans who are a “no” on the debt limit bill https://t.co/tB48Y2sQBZ
— Mica Soellner (@MicaSoellnerDC) May 30, 2023
North Carolina representative Nancy Mace has opposed the agreement:
Washington is broken.
Republicans got outsmarted by a President who can’t find his pants.
I’m voting NO on the debt ceiling debacle because playing the DC game isn’t worth selling out our kids and grandkids.
— Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) May 30, 2023
From North Carolina representative Dan Bishop:
McCarthy’s position as House speaker seems safe despite disagreements within debt ceiling debate.
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Here’s analysis on the issue from Politico:
But two dynamics help explain why McCarthy has been resilient — at least so far: (1) The backroom horse-trading, it turns out, helped McCarthy forge relationships with the right in a way his predecessors never did. And (2) the GOP base simply isn’t up in arms opposing him…
In fact, McCarthy’s approval rating has jumped by 10 points among Republicans since he took the gavel, hovering at 66%, according to a recent YouGov/Economist poll. Anecdotally speaking, even Biggs — who hails from a district DONALD TRUMP carried by 15 points in 2020 — told Playbook that his constituents think McCarthy’s doing “fairly well” and are “not really focusing on McCarthy’s speakership.”
BRENDAN BUCK, who worked for both Boehner and Ryan, said McCarthy appears to have learned from both — that “the worst thing a speaker can do is become a problem back home for their members,” he said. “He has gone out of his way to make sure that their support for him is never going to be a problem, minding the right every step of the way so that nobody can say: ‘You’re a vulnerability to me.’”
McCarthy also learned a thing or two about managing his right flank — bringing his conservative critics into the fold rather than seeking to marginalize them as Boehner and Ryan did. How much power he actually ceded them, though, is another question.
Biden and McCarthy have said they believe the negotiated debt ceiling deal will pass.
But lawmakers, namely Republicans, have voiced their discontent with the latest agreement.
In an interview with Politico, Virginia representative Bob Good, a Republican, said the deal was not “much different than what we could have gotten with a Democrat majority in the House.”
Republican lawmaker Chip Roy called the tentative agreement a “turd-sandwich” in a tweet, countering claims made by McCarthy in a Fox News interview that Republicans are satisfied by the deal, the Hill reported.
1st – the leadership playbook is to line up cheerleading on phone calls to demonstrate “unity.” 2nd, not 95% – I know of more no’s than that already. 3rd – they haven’t been educated yet on what a turd-sandwich this “deal” is. They will be. https://t.co/gaJhMT6LM3
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) May 28, 2023
Back from Memorial day holiday, both parties are set to have internal discussions about the latest debt ceiling deal.
Tomorrow, House Democrats will hold a closed door meeting on the bill, which now includes some work requirements for federal assistance.
Eligibility requirements for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would be changed under the deal, raising the age from 50 to 54 for people who must work at least 20 hours a week to qualify for food-assistance benefits, reports ABC News.
Far-right Republicans will hold a press conference on the plan at 12.00 pm eastern time today, as several members say they will vote against the deal which they argue does not go far enough.
House Republicans will then hold their own closed door meeting about the legislation at 7.30 pm.
Biden and McCarthy debt ceiling deal now faces battle to get through the House
Good morning.
Joe Biden and Kevin McCarthy’s debt ceiling agreement has come after a months-long stalemate and stalled negotiations on both sides. And it is not out of the woods yet.
The deal now faces scrutiny from House members – amid reports of criticism from both sides.
Unveiled Sunday, the deal will raise the country’s $34.1tn borrowing limit and include caps on government spending and policy changes to federal aid programs.
The compromise still needs to pass the House and Senate before 5 June, when the US could default.
Far-right Republicans have said they will vote against the deal. Some conservatives argue that the compromise doesn’t go far enough to reduce spending or target Democratic legislation, such as Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan.
For now, amidst the discontentment, lawmakers say it is unlikely that party members will call for McCarthy to step down from his position as House speaker.
Meanwhile, progressive legislators are also unhappy with the latest debt ceiling plan. Many have criticized Biden for negotiating with Republicans under the threat of a default and including work requirements for federal assistance in the deal.
Here’s what’s happening today:
12pm Members of the House Freedom Caucus will hold a news conference outside the Capitol.
3pm The House Rules Committee meets to prepare the bill to be debated.
6.30pm Congress will vote on unrelated bills. It will give Democrat and Republican whips a first chance to count votes in person.
7.30pm House Republican leaders will host a closed-door meeting.
