Hardline Republican lawmakers vowed to “do everything in their power” to prevent a bipartisan agreement to raise the U.S. debt ceiling from being signed into law, as Kevin McCarthy scrambled to canvass for it and avoid a default.
Scott Perry, the right-wing congressman from Pennsylvania and chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, slammed Republican House Speaker McCarthy on Tuesday, saying he has “utterly failed” in his mission to “stand the ground.” In negotiations with the White House.
The White House and McCarthy reached an agreement over the weekend that would suspend the debt ceiling until after the next presidential election in 2024. It capped discretionary spending for two years, tightened requirements for some social programs, cut IRS funding and accelerated permitting for large energy and infrastructure projects.
However, Perry and other hawks backed McCarthy’s gambit to start the talks — the Limits, Savings, Growth Act — which would raise the debt ceiling into next year while slashing spending and undoing some of President Joe Biden’s biggest policies , such as student loan debt relief.
“These members and others will absolutely oppose this agreement, and we will do everything in our power to stop it and end it immediately,” Perry said, standing in front of 10 fellow Republicans involved in attacking the agreement.
Perry did not call for McCarthy to lose his job over the deal, but his comments put pressure on the speaker as he looks ahead to a possible vote in the lower house of Congress expected on Wednesday.
The compromise would need to pass both the House and Senate if it is to become law by next week. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that the federal government will run out of money on June 5 if the debt ceiling is not raised in time.
Republicans narrowly control the House of Representatives. With more than a dozen members of the party publicly saying they would vote against the deal, McCarthy had to rely on significant support from House Democrats to pass the bill.
Many of McCarthy’s former critics praised the lawmaker — who was elected speaker in January despite strong opposition from members of his own party — for his handling of the debt ceiling.
But members of the Freedom Caucus have threatened a “motion to withdraw” or a vote of no confidence in McCarthy if he does not respond to their call to drop the deal.
Chip Roy, a Republican congressman from Texas, told talk radio host Glenn Beck on Tuesday that “we’re going to have to regroup and redo the whole leadership arrangement” if the debt ceiling becomes law.