JUST IN: Democrats Expected To Support McCarthy-Biden Debt Agreement, Are ‘Surprised’ By Lack Of Concessions To Republicans
A senior House Democrat told Axios that the majority of their caucus, “perhaps 100%,” are expected to vote in favor of the debt ceiling agreement negotiated by President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
“I expect the vast majority (and perhaps 100%) of Democrats to support it,” the Senior House Democrat told Axios reporter Andrew Solender. “Contingent on final text, most are surprised by how modest the concessions appear to be.”
Senior House Dem tells @Axios that if the Progressive Caucus doesn’t whip against the debt ceiling deal, “I expect the vast majority (and perhaps 100%) of Democrats to support it.”
“Contingent on final text, most are surprised by how modest the concessions appear to be.”
— Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) May 28, 2023
While House Democrats are reportedly satisfied, the agreement has been panned by a number of conservative lawmakers in the House Freedom Caucus. U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) called the bill a “disaster” while Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) said “no one claiming to be a conservative could justify a YES vote.”
Freedom Caucus members have argued that Speaker McCarthy made massive concessions on border security, the funding of an additional 87,000 IRS agents, and a failure to curb spending projects from the president’s “Build Back Better” legislation.
“Does nothing for the border. Does nothing regarding pistol braces. Does nothing regarding Presidential overreach. And in many ways kills our leverage to get them through the appropriations process,” U.S. Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) said of the agreement.
In addition to conservative opposition, the bill could still face objections from the progressive faction of the Democrat party. During a Sunday appearance on CNN’s State Of The Union, U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal stated that progressive support for the bill is not guaranteed.
“Well, I don’t know yet, Jake, because I haven’t seen the texts. You know I’m not a big fan of in-principle or frameworks. That’s always, you know, a problem if you can’t see the exact legislative texts. And we’re all trying to wade through spin right now,” Jayapal told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “That’s certainly what you heard from my good colleague on the other side of the aisle, is a lot of spin. But I think it will come down to what the legislative text is.”
Speaker McCarthy has expressed confidence that the bill will pass, claiming that “95%” of House GOP members are in favor of the bill. “We did a conference call with our conference and over 95% were overwhelmingly excited about what they see,” McCarthy told reporters on Sunday.
WATCH: McCarthy tells reporters he’s not concerned about facing resistance from House Republicans over the debt ceiling deal.
“We did a conference call with our conference and over 95% were overwhelmingly excited about what they see.” pic.twitter.com/QCYIWQ1lzH
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) May 28, 2023
The agreement will raise the debt limit through 2025, pushing back future discussions until after the 2024 presidential election. The deal also establishes annual discretionary spending caps for two years, while non-defense spending levels will remain flat next year and increase by 1% in 2025. McCarthy also touted increased work requirements for those seeking government assistance, which he said was “non-negotiable” for Democrats at the start of negotiations.
