House Speaker Kevin McCarthy should’ve thought twice about what he just did. Now he might lose his job.
And Kevin McCarthy is faced with a mutiny after betraying these Republicans.
The United States has been careening towards defaulting on the national debt for over a month now.
At first, Republicans stood firm, demanding that Democrats agree to cut spending to slash the debt so we aren’t right back where we started next year.
But now everything has changed.
Members of the House Freedom Caucus warned Tuesday that they would oppose President Biden’s debt-ceiling agreement struck with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and that McCarthy should scrap the weekend agreement and work on something that would slash government spending more drastically.
According to ten members of the caucus, the agreement allows for unlimited borrowing, includes cuts that primarily reflect emergency COVID funding that should have ended anyhow, and fails to include border security measures.
Scott Perry, R-Pennsylvania, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, called the agreement “absolutely and completely unacceptable.”
“We will do everything in our power to disrupt it,” Perry declared. “I am focused on defeating this bill.”
As of Thursday, it remained unclear whether enough Republicans would oppose the arrangement to cause it to fail in the House on Wednesday.
Several Democrats are expected to vote for it in support of Biden, and as of Tuesday, just approximately two dozen Republicans had stated that they will vote against it or are considering voting against it.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, warned McCarthy would have trouble getting the support he needs to pass his plan.
“I don’t think he even has a majority of his own conference at this point — we’ll find out later today,” Roy said. “I want to be very clear: not one Republican should vote for this deal.”
McCarthy and Republican friends who assisted in negotiating the arrangement with Biden emphasize the fact that it reduces some unused COVID-19 pandemic monies and partially limits IRS expansions made under the Inflation Reduction Act.
However, Republican Lauren Boebert of Colorado argued the agreement gives Biden a “blank check.”
“Tomorrow’s bill is a bunch of fake news and fake talking points that will do nothing to rein in out-of-control federal spending,” Boebert said.
“If every Republican voted the way they campaigned, they would vote against tomorrow’s bad deal because this is the very thing we campaigned to put an end to.”
The bill’s name, the Fiscal Responsibility Act, is ironic, according to Rep. Andre Clyde, R-Ga.
“In truth, there is nothing responsible about it — make no mistake this is the Fiscal Irresponsibility Act,” Clyde said.
“This isn’t a win for the American people, it’s a win for Washington.”
Stay tuned to The Federalist Wire.
