Top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy urged members of his party to support a bipartisan deal to lift the $31.4 trillion US debt ceiling and avoid a catastrophic default, ahead of a critical procedural vote.
The gatekeeper House of Representatives Rules Committee is due to consider the 99-page bill today, ahead of votes in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Both Democratic President Joe Biden and House Speaker McCarthy have predicted that they will get enough votes to pass it into law before June 5, when the US Treasury Department says it will not have enough money to cover its obligations.
McCarthy called the bill the ‘most conservative deal we’ve ever had.’
Not all of his caucus agrees, and he faced a direct challenge yesterday from two hardline Republicans who he added to the 13-member Rules Committee in January as a condition of winning the speaker’s gavel.
The pair, Representatives Chip Roy and Ralph Norman, said they may vote against it if it is not changed to their liking.
Roy said Republicans on the panel had agreed that they would not advance legislation they all did not support, which could potentially torpedo the bill before it comes up for a full vote.
“Right now, it ain’t good,” Roy said at a news conference.
A third hardliner, Representative Thomas Massie, had hinted that he might support the package. His support would ensure that the bill advances.
“I think it’s important to keep in mind the debt limit bill itself does not spend money,” he wrote on Twitter. His office declined to comment further.
The four Democrats on the panel typically vote against Republican-backed legislation.
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