CNN
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Speaker Kevin McCarthy appealed to House Republicans in a closed-door meeting Tuesday morning to support his debt ceiling plan, telling them that while it does not necessarily have to include whatever they want, it will help him sit at the negotiating table with the president. Joe Biden.
McCarthy also told members that once at the table, he could push for other policy provisions later, according to multiple sources in the room, underscoring the idea that leaders consider the plan reserved for the Republican Party as a simple way to strengthen their hand. at the negotiating table.
Republicans at the top of the House appear confident in their ability to unite the conference around a plan and move quickly to pass it. But this is far from certain. Key details of the plan have yet to be finalized and some members are expressing frustration with the proposal as it stands – and the elements that have not been included.
House Rules Chairman Tom Cole told CNN that the GOP debt limit bill would come before the House next week, but other House Republicans expressed skepticism that whether the details of the proposal could be ironed out in time for a vote to take place as quickly and on schedule. can slip.
House Republicans insist that any increase in the debt ceiling must be accompanied by spending cuts, while the White House maintains that the ceiling must be raised without any conditions. McCarthy wants to introduce a debt limitation bill to the House to pressure the White House to come to the negotiating table, even if the bill does not pass the controlled Senate by the Democrats.
The closed-door meeting kicks off a tough campaign by Republican Party leaders to muster 218 votes for a proposal to raise the debt ceiling and cut federal spending. McCarthy walked members through his proposal, which includes clawing back unspent Covid-19 funds, 10-year spending caps, banning Biden’s student loan forgiveness and passing an energy bill from GOP.
Conservatives are pushing for more to be included, while some have said they would not support raising the debt ceiling under any circumstances, illustrating how difficult it will be for Republican Party leaders to unite the conference behind a proposal.
Republican Rep. Scott Perry, chairman of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus, expressed frustration with the lack of clarity from House Republican leaders on their debt ceiling and spending reduction plan.
“I don’t know exactly what’s in the package, that’s the problem,” Perry told reporters. “I know what was on the screen, but I don’t think it’s the whole package.”
Perry also said he disagreed with GOP leaders’ approach of trying to pass something now in order to get to the negotiating table with Democrats, then demanding more later . Perry was one of several members who stood up during the closed-door conference and argued for additional cuts.
Rep. Kevin Hern, head of the Republican study committee, told CNN that Republicans must unite on a debt ceiling plan or face a much weaker hand in any future negotiations with the White House.
“It’s a question of leadership. If we can’t lead, we have a problem,” Hern said.
Hern said he would have no problem voting as early as next week, arguing it was time for Republicans to unite.
GOP Rep. Don Bacon said one of the things they’re still debating is how — and for how long — to raise the debt ceiling, and whether they should raise it by more. a dollar amount or until a date. Some members are pushing for a shorter raise, but Bacon said that will likely continue into next year.
He also confirmed that some members were still pushing to include more spending cuts and repeals, and some lawmakers advocated for it during the meeting, but Bacon predicted that Biden’s 18 district Republicans, like him, would be in favor of this.
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz said debt ceiling negotiations are “getting closer” but there are still details to be worked out. He said he was not sure whether a vote on the budget deal could take place as soon as next week.
“I think a lot of it depends on how these discussions play out today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow,” he said. “I think there are a number of really crucial details that we still need to work out before we make a final decision on a vote, but it’s been a very productive discussion, a lot of good ideas,” although he said he would be “very surprised” if the text of the bill were published today.
A source inside the room told CNN that inside the House GOP conference, members of the House Freedom Caucus, including Reps. Perry, Chip Roy and Andrew Clyde, have called for including more cuts and pushed leaders to explain why certain provisions were not included.
This shows how difficult this will be for leaders, even though they have presented this as an opportunity to strengthen their influence with the White House.
One of the topics discussed at the GOP conference meeting was why certain items were not included as part of the debt ceiling.
For example, conservatives were frustrated that the measure that would claw back enforcement funds from the Internal Revenue Service was not included. But a source in the room told CNN that the reason this plan is not included is that the Congressional Budget Office would consider it expensive and that, without enforcement funds, the CBO would argue that less tax revenue would be collected.
Republicans are trying to raise as much revenue as possible and cut spending under this bill.