Congress leaders support debt ceiling bill despite backlash.
Major Congressional Leaders Signal Support for McCarthy’s Debt Ceiling Deal
All major congressional leaders have signaled their support for Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) debt ceiling deal despite backlash from members of both parties.
The Deal
On May 27, after a months-long standoff, McCarthy announced that he and President Joe Biden had reached “an agreement in principle” to raise the debt ceiling “that’s worthy of the American people.” In addition to raising the debt ceiling, the bill would cap non-defense spending at its previous levels, enhance work requirements for government assistance, and reclaim unspent COVID-19 relief funds, among other measures.
Criticism from Both Sides
Since then, most congressional leaders have signaled support for the deal, dubbed the Fiscal Responsibility Act, even as it faces criticism from both the left and the right.
- For progressives like Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the package is too right-wing.
- The right-wing of the GOP, likewise, has decried the deal as a “surrender” to the left, saying it concedes too much to Democrats.
- The House Freedom Caucus, a powerful force in the House GOP, has also signaled it’s against the deal.
Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Chip Roy (R-Texas), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Dan Bishop (R-N.C.), and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), among others, have each said they won’t support the package.
Leadership Support
But despite bipartisan discontent with the package, major congressional leaders have each signaled their support for it.
- McCarthy, who led GOP negotiations with Democrats on the package, said of the measure “there’s so much in this that’s positive.”
- House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), GOP House Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), and Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) called it “a historic series of wins” in a statement.
- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) was noncommittal. However, he suggested that the bill would be instrumental in “avoiding a catastrophic default,” and suggested he expects Democrat support for the package.
- Reports also claim that Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the former House majority whip, has been rallying support for the package behind-the-scenes.
Despite criticism from both sides, the debt ceiling deal proposed by Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy has received support from major congressional leaders. The deal includes measures such as capping non-defense spending and enhancing work requirements for government assistance. While some progressives and right-wing members of the GOP have voiced their opposition, McCarthy and other leaders have praised the deal as a positive step forward. With the debt ceiling deadline looming, it remains to be seen whether the package will receive enough support to pass.
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