March 29, 2024
Speaker Kevin McCarthy received a standing ovation during a House Republican Conference meeting on the debt ceiling on Tuesday.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy received a standing ovation during a House Republican Conference meeting on the debt ceiling on Tuesday.

House Republicans gathered in the Capitol building to discuss the debt ceiling deal and gave McCarthy a round of applause. The California Republican said he would give Republicans time to talk about the debt limit deal, otherwise known as the Fiscal Responsibility Act.

The House will tentatively vote on the legislation Wednesday.

The California Republican emphasized that the debt deal would allow Republicans to have more leverage during this fall’s spending bill fight, something that conservatives such as Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) have noted.

Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) said the IRS will not hire any agents as a result of the Fiscal Responsibility Act. The debt limit legislation reduces the IRS’s budget by $1.4 billion, and the compromise struck between McCarthy and President Joe Biden for future appropriations bills would also reduce IRS funding in fiscal year 2024 by $10 billion and fiscal year 2025 by $10 billion.

Graves, who was one of the chief negotiators with the Biden White House, received a standing ovation when he relayed that the White House complained that Democrats did not receive any priority spending or legislation in the bill.

The Louisiana Republican said that the White House “said over and over — how do we get 10 Dem senators to vote for this? There isn’t anything in here for us. And know what? There’s not.”

Graves called on House Republicans to continue backing the legislation.

“You gave the speaker a strong hand, please stick with us now,” he said.

McCarthy told Breitbart News Washington Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle about the perils of not tackling America’s deficit problem in an exclusive interview:

Matthew Perdie / Breitbart News, Jack Knudsen / Breitbart News , Zenny Phuong / Breitbart News

Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.