Matt Gaetz says McCarthy ‘couldn’t possibly have 218 votes’ for GOP budget plan
Brady Knox
Video Embed
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) cast heavy doubt on House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) confidence that he has enough GOP votes for his budget plan.
Gaetz previously headed a group of House GOP rebels that refused to elect McCarthy as speaker in January. On Tuesday, he showed his continuation of being a thorn in his party leader’s side, voicing his concerns about McCarthy’s proposed budget plan.
MCCARTHY TOUTS EARLY HOUSE MOMENTUM AS BIGGEST CHALLENGES LIE AHEAD
“We still have to resolve major questions like the dollar amount, and the duration, and the policy concessions we are seeking from the Senate,” Gaetz told Politico. “So it couldn’t possibly have 218 votes because it doesn’t even exist.”
He added that he wouldn’t “prognosticate the end-zone dance before we draw the game plan.”
Gaetz wasn’t alone in his opposition, being joined by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC).
“We have to have a plan. You’re going to walk into the debt ceiling vote without a plan? That’s not going to bode well for the outcome,” she said.
Still, Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) said there was some support for McCarthy’s proposal and that there were only “little tweaks” some Republicans would like to see.
“But I think, in general, everyone is supportive of it,” Luetkemeyer said. “Everyone’s got good ideas. They are all supportive of the general idea and program that the speaker laid out.”
McCarthy laid out his debt plan, pitched as a strategy rather than a concrete plan, in a private meeting with leading GOP leaders. The house speaker and his supporters hope to turn the plan into a concrete bill in the coming days.
One attendee of the meeting said that McCarthy’s pitch consisted of a slideshow, where he laid out the principles of the strategy, according to Politico. The house speaker is reportedly aiming to get through several deregulatory and spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt ceiling for another year.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The contentions of some members of the GOP, including propositions to cut Democrats’ tax, climate, and healthcare measure passed late last year, specifically funding for new IRS agents and green ESG incentives, were presented along with a list of pros and cons.
The White House has condemned this latter strategy, saying it exposes the “real agenda of the ultra-MAGA hard-liners who increasingly dominate the House Republican Conference.”