Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) expressed doubt on Sunday that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has the votes to pass his debt ceiling budget proposal.
McCarthy has not secured the support of his entire caucus for his plan to raise the debt ceiling over the next year either by $1.5 trillion or until March 31, 2024, whichever comes first. Republicans control the House 222-212, meaning McCarthy can only afford four GOP defections to pass the bill.
MCCARTHY SAYS HE ‘CANNOT IMAGINE’ REPUBLICANS SIDING WITH BIDEN ON DEBT CEILING
“I’m concerned about the budget that they put forward … and I’m not sure [McCarthy has] the votes for it or not,” Dingell said of the proposal on Fox News Sunday. “I don’t think there are some Republicans that want to vote to cut education, reduce veterans spending by 22%.”
The debt ceiling, or the top amount the federal government can borrow, will either need to be raised or abolished sometime this summer in order to avert a debt default. Economists have long warned that such a default would wreak havoc on the economy. Biden has not budged in three months on his refusal to negotiate over the debt limit, and White House officials have criticized McCarthy and House Republicans for demanding spending negotiations be tied to the debt ceiling increase.
The proposal, which McCarthy formally unveiled on Wednesday, would return government agency funding to fiscal 2022 levels and cap annual increases to about 1% annually, except for the Pentagon. It also would undo President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness order and Democrats’ bolstered IRS funding approved in the Inflation Reduction Act, among other party priorities.
McCarthy’s office spent weeks working to craft legislation that could garner the necessary 218 votes for passage. Should the bill fail, the House speaker will have nothing to bring to the negotiating table after months of demands from the White House to present a passable debt ceiling compromise.
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GOP lawmakers have had mixed reactions to the proposal, setting McCarthy up for his most serious challenge since his prolonged speakership vote in January when he struggled to lock down the support of his entire conference. Despite the opposition, the House speaker has repeatedly expressed confidence that he can get the plan passed.
“We do have a very small majority, only five seats, one of the smallest we’ve ever had, but I cannot imagine someone in our conference that would want to go along with Biden’s reckless spending,” McCarthy said Sunday. “This is responsible, this is something we have sat down for months that everybody’s had input in.”
