McCarthy dismisses debt ceiling concerns from Freedom Caucus
Cami Mondeaux Reese Gorman
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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) brushed off concerns from members of the House Freedom Caucus over debt ceiling negotiations, saying he is confident he’ll have enough support from rank-and-file lawmakers to get a deal passed before the country defaults on its loans.
McCarthy returned to the Capitol Friday morning after another round of late-night negotiations, telling reporters they have continued to make progress but are still working through disagreements on spending and work requirements. Details of the deal are scant, but several Republicans have expressed opposition to what they’ve seen so far and are urging McCarthy to hold the line and not make any concessions.
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“What’s going through right now is members don’t really know what’s all in there,” McCarthy said. “If you’re wondering about ‘holding the line,’ it’s where we’ve been all the time.”
Members of the House Freedom Caucus wrote a letter to McCarthy on Thursday pressing the speaker to stand by their demands and include some new provisions as part of the negotiating process. The letter came after several conservatives expressed their disagreement with leaked details of the deal, with some suggesting they could withhold support if their demands aren’t met.
Negotiators have six days before the default deadline, on which the country could become unable to pay its debts, according to a timeline provided by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
The time crunch comes as the House broke for recess on Thursday afternoon for the holiday weekend, with some Democrats grumbling that lawmakers should stay in Washington. McCarthy said he would remain in Washington until a deal is made, as did the speaker’s top negotiators, Reps. Garret Graves (R-LA) and Patrick McHenry (R-NC).
Graves told reporters Friday morning no progress had been made since he left the Capitol the night before when he said disagreements on work requirements were holding up negotiations.
There are no plans for an in-person meeting on Friday, according to McHenry.
“I want an agreement that changes the trajectory of the country. That’s the speaker’s imperative to us. That’s the reason why we passed our bill,” McHenry said. “But the tweets, the context, the details, and all this stuff, and the leaks don’t serve getting an agreement that changes the trajectory of the country. That’s what this is about. That’s the fundamental piece of this arrangement that we’re focused on closing out, and if we can close it out, we can meet the deadline and the obligations we have to the American public.”
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Negotiators are hoping to finalize a deal by the end of Friday or Saturday at the latest, after which lawmakers will take one or two days to write the legislation. After that, the bill must be available for review for at least 72 hours before being considered for a vote, according to House rules.
That means the earliest a vote could take place in the House is Wednesday, just one day before the default deadline. After that, the legislation will be passed to the Senate, where it could take a few days before it’s passed and sent to Biden’s desk for his signature.