House Republicans grapple with where to cut federal spending
Samantha-Jo Roth
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House Republicans are insisting on sharp spending cuts in exchange for raising the nation’s debt ceiling, but the party has yet to put forward a specific ask to bring to the White House.
The Treasury Department has warned that it may only be able to pay all of the government’s bills through early June after the United States hit its $31.4 trillion borrowing limit last Thursday. The deadline provides House Republicans with leverage in its nascent negotiations with Democrats, who control the Senate and the White House.
But Republicans also find themselves in the difficult position of deciding where to slash spending. An across-the-board cut is a nonstarter for defense hawks, and Democrats are already using the specter of budget cuts to argue Republicans want to hurt popular programs.
“Are Republicans going to hold Social Security hostage in exchange for the debt ceiling? Or pay raises for our troops? Or support for veterans? Or funding for police and firefighters and first responders?” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) asked in a floor speech Tuesday. “Republicans, you owe the American people answers on what you mean by spending cuts.”
What is known is that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) agreed to roll back spending to fiscal 2022 levels next year as a concession to hard-liners in his party, tantamount to a $130 billion cut. He’s also agreed to put forward a budget that balances in 10 years.
McCarthy will soon meet with Joe Biden for their first sit-down on the debt ceiling, expected to happen sometime before the president’s State of the Union address next month.
Senate conservatives, while speaking broadly, gave their two cents on what reforms should be made during a press conference Wednesday.
“Republicans have to give up the sacred cow that says we will never touch a dollar from the military,” said Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), standing alongside a group of other GOP senators urging fiscal responsibility. “Everything would have to be looked at across the board. No one has a sacred area that would be a boon.”
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The group, known as the “Breakfast Club,” threw out general ideas like a balanced budget amendment. Paul and Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) both mentioned statutory caps on discretionary spending in the coming years as part of a debt limit deal.
But they made clear the fight over the borrowing limit belongs to the Republican-led House.
“Exactly what those are, we’re not willing to lay that out today. We’re going to be doing that in consultation with the House,” said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) when asked what specifically Senate conservatives are looking to eliminate in the budget.
Schumer reiterated his call for Republicans to get specific in a press briefing held minutes earlier.
“Until Speaker McCarthy has a plan that can pass in the House with his Republican support — his going to the White House is like going with no cards in his hand,” he said on Wednesday. “What’s their plan? They haven’t shown it. They have an obligation on something as serious as the debt ceiling to show it.”
Conservative Republicans in the House, such as Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX) and Andy Harris (R-MD), have denied that Republicans want to cut defense, while McCarthy has signaled some openness to defense cuts to roll back so-called woke priorities in the military.
“We can spend at defense spending levels for the ’23 omnibus. We can return to pre-COVID spending levels for the rest of the bureaucratic state, and you can get to better than ’22 levels,” Roy told reporters on Wednesday.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) has said defense cuts need to be “on the table.”
Senate conservatives said they are ready to offer support to House Republicans, who will be in the driver’s seat, negotiating a plan to raise the debt limit.
“They’ve got a big task ahead of them,” Johnson said. “We want to do everything we can to support their efforts but also encourage them because the crucial aspect of what they need to do is they have to pass these things with Republican votes.”
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Senators admit coming up with a plan that can win overwhelming support from within the conference is not going to be an easy task.
“It is obviously a critical first step because it’s not going to come from this chamber,” Braun said to reporters Wednesday. “I think it’s going to be difficult.”