Republican leaders and the White House have secured support from key mainstream lawmakers for a deal that averts a damaging U.S. debt default, boosting confidence the deal can quickly win congressional approval.
Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and U.S. President Joe Biden have little margin for error to secure passage of the bipartisan agreement they struck Saturday night after days of intense negotiations.
The deal sparked an immediate backlash from right-wing conservatives.
Texas’ Chip Roy called it a “shit sandwich,” South Carolina’s Ralph Norman called it “crazy,” and North Carolina’s Dan Bishop described it with a green vomit emoji, sparking fears the deal could be passed in Congress. The building faces an uphill struggle hill.
But moderate lawmakers from both Republicans and Democrats said they would support the agreement, suggesting it has enough support to pass into law.
“With a divided government, the only way forward is to find a compromise that puts the interests of the American people first,” House Republican Mike Lawler, from a swing district upstate in New York City, said in a statement.
“Nothing we’ve done in Congress has been easy. It’s always been a tortuous road to get there, but I’m pretty confident we’ll get it done,” Dusty Johnson, a South Dakota Republican, told the Financial Times .
He said the reaction from most House Republicans was “pretty strong” and that votes from “fringe” members of the party “never came into play.”
Johnson also defended the deal. “This bill is a series of pretty solid conservative victories — one that does nothing to advance American society in a more liberal or progressive way than the status quo,” he said.
The first key test will be a vote in the House of Representatives expected on Wednesday. The Senate will vote next weekend. If legislation is not enacted by June 5, the U.S. will run out of cash to pay all its bills, which could roil financial markets and tip the U.S. and global economies into recession.
House lawmakers are expected to return to Washington on Tuesday after the Memorial Day long weekend ahead of the vote. McCarthy’s support in the House of Representatives is extremely low, but he can rely on some support from the Democratic Party to make up for the defection of the Republican Party.
Many lawmakers are still undecided and are holding off on judgment until they have more time to study the bill.
“There’s a lot of work to be done from here to a full vote. That’s the problem with having such a slim majority. Even the most routine measures risk becoming a painful cliffhanger,” said Kevin Kelvin, a Republican strategist at the Penta Group, a Washington-based consultancy. · Madden (Kevin Madden) said.
Most policy analysts still expect it to pass.
“While there are some disgruntled far-right members, most conservatives are committed to passing the deal and have no interest in accepting a motion to default or withdraw the chair,” said Ben Koltun of Beacon Policy Advisors, who stripped McCarthy of the speaker Position.
“It’s going to explode without a doubt,” predicted James Lucier, managing director of Capital Alpha.
On the Democratic side, there was unease about some of the concessions Biden agreed to. But expressions of support, even half-hearted ones, poured in on Sunday.
“Our members are encouraged that the two sides have reached an agreement and believe that President Biden and White House negotiators have come up with a viable bipartisan solution to end this crisis,” said Annie Kuster of New Hampshire, a Democrat. partisan.
Most of the drama is expected to be on the Republican side. The first hurdle could be a vote by the House Rules Committee, which includes several Republican opponents who may try to block the bill.
External pressure may also be a factor. Former President Donald Trump, who remains influential with Republicans and has previously called on lawmakers to default on the deal without deep spending cuts, has not commented on the agreement, nor has Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Both are candidates for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. But Republican National Committee Chairman Rona McDaniel, a Trump ally, was enthusiastic about the deal, calling it a “dramatic victory” for McCarthy.
“Until they pass history-changing bills, no one is going to believe that there is a possibility of cutting spending, rewriting work requirements, reforming energy and infrastructure, etc.,” she said in an interview with Fox News on Sunday.