Republican rebel says they’re ‘settling’ over debt limit deal: pressure mounts on Kevin McCarthy

Rep. Dan Bishop said he has absolutely “zero” confidence in Kevin McCarthy, as he became the first Republican to publicly float the idea of ​​ousting the speaker over the debt limit deal.

“What basis is there for trust?” Bishop asked reporters after he was the only one at a House Freedom Caucus press conference to raise his hand and say he would put the motion to evict the speaker “on the table.”

McCarthy’s top negotiators finally reached an agreement with the White House last weekend that would suspend the debt ceiling until January 1, 2025.

As part of an earlier deal to become speaker, McCarthy agreed to a rule change that allowed a single motion by a member to leave – a member of either party can motion to leave and the speaker can use the gavel lose if a simple majority votes in favour. the movement.

Republican defectors estimate the deal would add $4 trillion to the national debt.

Other members of the right-wing Freedom Caucus have been less blunt in suggesting that McCarthy could lose his speakership over what Bishop described as a “s*** sandwich” of a deal.

“McCarthy has lost some confidence,” said Rep. Ralph Norman, RS.C., told reporters, but said “I’m not going there” when asked about the motion to leave.

McCarthy told reporters he is not concerned about a motion to leave. ‘Say it again. What did the Democrats put in it?” he said, insisting the bill was a Republican victory.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said there would be a “reckoning” if the bill passes.

“There will be a reckoning on what just happened unless we stop this bill,” he told reporters.

In an interview with Glenn Beck on Tuesday morning, Roy said that if he couldn’t stop the Rules bill “then we’re going to have to regroup and rethink the whole leadership arrangement.”

Representative Scott Perry, who leads the Freedom Caucus, said “I will let each member speak for themselves” when asked about the motion to leave, but added “this deal fails, fails completely.”

“We will do everything we can to stop it,” he added.

Representative Byron Donalds did not rule out a possible impeachment of McCarthy: “Look, I think that will be addressed next.”

The House Rules Committee will debate and vote on the bill this afternoon at 3 p.m. Two of the nine Republicans on the 13-member panel have already announced they will not vote to take the bill to the House floor. It is not yet clear whether the Democrats in the panel will vote to move the bill forward.

Freedom Caucus members speak up about the debt ceiling agreement between McCarthy and Biden

Rep. Dan Bishop called the deal a “s*** sandwich”

Rep. Patrick McHenry, a chief negotiator and former deputy whip, predicted the deal would pass with the support of about half of the Republican conference.

“The Republican conference is torn apart right now,” Roy said.

That would mean about 110 Democrats would have to vote for the bill to pass. The center-left New Democratic Coalition, which has about 100 members, supported the bill on Monday.

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries declined to say how many Democratic votes he could produce — saying he still expected the Republicans to deliver the 150 GOP votes they promised him.

He also declined to say whether Democrats would step in to save McCarthy if the right-wing rebels in his caucus stage a coup.

McCarthy rarely received praise from Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., who opposed his speakership.

“I think McCarthy was trying to some extent,” she said.

Boebert shifted the blame from McCarthy to the Democrats. McCarthy did his job. But sadly, Biden and the Democratic-controlled Senate have not done theirs. The House has done our job.’

Republicans opposed to the bill waived the threat of default after Treasury Sec. Janet Yellen said the nation could run out of money to pay its bills by June 5.

I don’t believe “The Sky’s Falling” by Janet Yellen. She moved the date three times,” Norman told reporters. ‘What’s the matter? Tax revenue is coming in. We’re not going to default.’

“Let’s bluff it. The best deal is no deal. The time you get up and walk away from the table was when Biden was dawdling in Japan for 97 days and god knows where else he went.”

The debt limit deal includes $136 billion in spending cuts and suspends the debt ceiling until January 1, 2025 – after the 2024 election.

Some of the opposing Republicans, who passed a bill last month — the Limit, Save, Grow Act — that would only raise the ceiling by $1.5 trillion, say the suspension of the debt limit goes beyond what is necessary and the government -Allows Biden to overspend for the next two years.

The deal also leaves non-defense discretionary spending unchanged in 2024 and allows for a one percent increase in 2025 — which essentially amounts to spending cuts because inflation is not taken into account.