Some conservatives in the House pledged to oppose the debt ceiling deal struck by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and President Joe Biden within hours of the release of a final draft.
Biden and McCarthy reached an agreement over the weekend to raise the debt ceiling and cut spending after weeks of negotiations over what Republicans wanted in exchange for a debt limit hike.
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But some House Republicans expressed outrage after seeing the outlines of a deal that fell far short of the cuts and reforms they wanted.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) knocked what she saw as an emerging “compromise deal” on Saturday and said the Republican House majority could “do better” than what McCarthy accepted.
Our base didn’t volunteer, door knock and fight so hard to get us the majority for this kind of compromise deal with Joe Biden.
Our voters deserve better than this. We work for them.
You can count me as a NO on this deal. We can do better.
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) May 28, 2023
Her criticism reflected a growing number of GOP lawmakers who felt McCarthy did not lean into the leverage he had when negotiating with Biden.
Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) said the agreement contains “virtually no cuts” to spending.
This “deal” is insanity.
A $4T debt ceiling increase with virtually no cuts is not what we agreed to.
Not gonna vote to bankrupt our country. The American people deserve better.
— Rep. Ralph Norman (@RepRalphNorman) May 28, 2023
The agreement will cap nondefense federal spending in fiscal 2024 at its present level and allow a 1% increase in spending in fiscal 2025.
Conservatives, such as Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), had pushed for spending levels next year to revert to fiscal 2022 levels and to lay out a deficit reduction plan that brought the deficit down more than $4.8 trillion over the next decade.
Roy, who is one of at least eight Republicans already planning to vote against the deal, said the agreement looked unacceptable even before the text of the legislation was released.
More GOP lawmakers have criticized the deal since its release, so that number is likely to grow in the days ahead.
I think there are even some worse components – but waiting on text… it’s worse than I thought every minute that goes by. https://t.co/KKgBB6XQAO
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) May 28, 2023
Roy was concerned, among other things, about welfare work requirements that he described as “weak.”
The debt ceiling deal raised the age for which able-bodied adults without dependents must continue working at least 20 hours a week to remain on food stamps.
I wish that were true. $4 Trillion for keeping (effectively) bloated 2023 spending levels & maintenance of the Democrats’ wish list – crony IRA unreliable energy subsidies stay, IRS expansion 98% stays, work requirements weak and don’t apply to Medicaid… https://t.co/f3i4fTlWRs
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) May 28, 2023
Roy also criticized the green energy subsidies, which Democrats passed in the Inflation Reduction Act, that McCarthy failed to rescind in the deal.
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Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) said Republicans should be concerned that most Democrats appear poised to vote for the deal — a sign, he said, that Democrats got more of what they wanted.
This pretty much says it all.
Democrats got everything they wanted with this bill and don’t have to defend their reckless spending prior to the 2024 election. It’s a win for them. https://t.co/gtuHxQaXad
— Rep. Ken Buck (@RepKenBuck) May 28, 2023
Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC) lamented the length of the deal McCarthy struck because it locked in some changes until 2025.
Kevin says we can fight again NEXT year to rescind another year of the IRS $80 billion … but he simultaneously prevented that “fight” by agreeing to suspend the debt ceiling for TWO years.
So there will be 85,260 more IRS agents rather than 87,000 to eat you alive. Big win. https://t.co/CHRRIxFI4j
— Rep. Dan Bishop (@RepDanBishop) May 28, 2023
Bishop expressed concern that so much of the $80 billion in new IRS funding that Democrats voted for last year will remain in the agency’s coffers. The debt ceiling deal cuts $10 billion of that each of the next two years, for a total of $20 billion in clawbacks, but the federal government will have the ability to spend that money elsewhere rather than put it toward reducing the deficit.
