cnn
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speaker Kevin McCarthy House Republicans were urged to lend their support during a closed-door meeting Tuesday morning. credit limit schemeLetting them know that although it doesn’t include everything they want, it will help get them to the negotiating table President Joe Biden.
According to multiple sources in the room, McCarthy also told members that once he was at the table, he could push for other policy provisions, underscoring the idea that leadership would fully support the GOP-only plan. Considers a way to strengthen one’s hand. At the negotiating table.
Top House Republicans are expressing confidence that they will be able to unite the conference behind a plan and move quickly to pass it. But this is far from certain. Key details of the plan are still to be finalized and some members are expressing disappointment at the current state of the proposal and the elements that have not been included.
House Rules Chairman Tom Cole told CNN the GOP debt ceiling bill will be on the House floor next week, but other House Republicans have expressed doubt over whether the specifics of the proposal will be set for a vote soon. Can be done and time limit can be fixed. May slip.
House Republicans are insisting that any increase in the debt limit must be paired with spending cuts, while the White House argues that the limit should be raised without strings attached. McCarthy wants to push a debt ceiling bill through the House to pressure the White House to come to the negotiating table, even if the bill does not pass the Democratic-controlled Senate.
The closed-door meeting took a herculean effort by GOP leaders to muster 218 votes for a proposal to raise the debt limit and reduce federal spending. McCarthy briefed members on his proposals, which include rolling back unspent COVID-19 funds, imposing a 10-year limit on spending, blocking Biden’s student loan forgiveness and enacting the GOP energy bill.
Conservatives are pushing to include more people, while some have said they would not support raising the debt limit under any circumstances, showing how challenging it will be for GOP leaders to unify the conference behind a proposal. will be.
GOP Representative Scott Perry, chairman of the radical House Freedom Caucus, expressed frustration at the lack of specificity by House GOP leaders on their debt ceiling and spending cut plans.
“I don’t know what’s in the package, that’s the issue,” Perry told reporters. “I know what was on the screen, but I don’t think it’s the whole package.”
Perry also said he disagrees with the GOP leadership’s approach of trying to pass something now to get to the negotiating table with Democrats and then demanding more later. Perry was one of several members who stood up during the closed-door meeting and advocated for additional cuts.
Representative Kevin Hearn, leader of the Republican study committee, told CNN that Republicans need to come together on a debt ceiling plan or face a very weak hand in any future negotiations with the White House.
“It’s about leadership. If we can’t lead we have a problem,” Hearn said.
Hearn said he has no problem with voting as soon as next week, arguing that it is 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 limit, and whether they should raise it by a dollar amount or by some date. Some members are pushing for a lower increase, but Bacon said it will likely go up next year.
He also confirmed that some members are still pushing to include more spending cuts and repeal, and some lawmakers advocated for it during the meeting, but Bacon predicted that 18 Republicans in Biden districts like his would support it. Must have taken.
Florida Representative Matt Gaetz said conference talks on the debt ceiling are “getting closer,” but there are still details that need attention. He said he was not sure if a vote on a budget deal could come as early as next week.
“I think a lot depends on how these discussions go today, tomorrow, the next day,” he said. “I think there are still a lot of important details we have to work out before we make a final decision on voting, but it’s been a very productive discussion, a lot of good ideas” although he said he was “very surprised.” “If the text of the bill were released today.
Inside the House GOP conference, members of the House Freedom Caucus, including Representatives Perry, Chip Roy and Andrew Clyde, called for more cuts to be included and pressed leadership on why certain provisions were included, a source inside the room told CNN. Were not done.
This shows how difficult this is going to be for leaders, even though the leadership has presented it as an opportunity to consolidate influence with the White House.
One of the topics discussed during the GOP conference meeting was why some items were not included in the debt ceiling framework.
For example, conservatives were disappointed that a measure that would bring back Internal Revenue Service enforcement funding was not included. But a source in the room told CNN the reason it was not included is that it would be considered costly by the Congressional Budget Office and that without enforcement money, CBO would argue that less tax revenue would be collected.
Republicans are trying to raise as much revenue as possible and cut spending in this bill.