House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has warned that people on “both sides” will not be happy with the final agreement that Congress and the White House come to in regards to the debt ceiling.
The house speaker expressed optimism on Saturday of making an agreement on time for the June 5 deadline, replying “yes” when asked if Congress would be able to meet the deadline. The deal is also expected to not be incredibly long, with McCarthy stating that it would be “150 pages or less,” according to The Hill.
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“Everybody won’t like what is the end of the agreement … on both sides,” said McCarthy. “But … at the end of the day I think people should see what that product is before people vote on it.”
McCarthy was unphased over the likelihood that the deal will be disliked by members of both parties, and believes he will still have enough support for the deal to pass.
“If your idea is you’re going to put a bill on the floor but you don’t want anybody to read it, and you want it to pass because you’re afraid they won’t like it, it’s probably not a good product,” said McCarthy. “I’m not fearful of what’s in this bill.”
McCarthy stated he will give lawmakers three days to read the text of the legislation before they vote on it, as is the norm. Additionally, he has discussed with Senate leaders on how much time they will need to meet the June 5 deadline.
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Ahead of the deadline, McCarthy and Republicans are in discussions with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) and other moderate Democrats to cut a deal. Sinema could potentially use her status as an independent lawmaker to help the GOP and Democrats reach a middle ground and come to a deal
On Friday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told McCarthy in a letter that the “most recent data available” has led her to revise the debt ceiling deadline slightly, delaying it from June 1 to the new date of June 5. Rep. John Rose (R-TN), a House Financial Services Committee member, has asked Yellen in a letter to provide information about the methods and data the Treasury Department used to come to the June 1 debt ceiling deadline.
