- House GOP leaders push through with a debt-limit plan despite opposition from within the party.
- Several Republicans have argued that the plan needs to be revised to earn their support.
- House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said they would not make any last-minute revisions to the proposal.
House GOP leaders are confident that their debt-limit proposal would pass despite facing opposition from lawmakers within their own party.
They waived off calls from several rank-and-file Republicans for revisions to their proposal. They are instead pushing through and will have a floor vote later this week, daring the opposition to vote against it.
House GOP Leaders Double Down on Debt-Limit Proposal
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer asserted that perspective, while a handful of other Republican lawmakers said they continue to demand changes to the bill privately. They argued that without such revisions, they would most likely vote "no" on the plan itself. This comes as Republican leaders only have a leeway of four votes.
In a statement, Emmer said that he was "told it's closed" and that "it's not getting changed," noting that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said they would not be making any last-minute changes to the proposal, as per Politico.
Despite operating under a tight situation, McCarthy and his allies have taken aggressive stances to tout their ability to pass the debt measure this week. It comes after several months of internal discussions with members regarding their expectations and concerns about the plans.
Furthermore, GOP leadership had previously warned that they wanted to keep the conference in line and failure to unite in support of a debt plan would only result in empowering President Joe Biden and his Democratic allies.
Emmer said that opposing Republicans had two choices, whether to have a solution and avoid default or let Biden and New York Sen. Chuck Schumer a "blank check" without any sort of fiscal reform. He argued that this was the exact thing that put GOP officials in charge of making a solution for the debt ceiling.
Partisan Opposition to the Proposal
While Republican leaders are optimistic about the debt-limit proposal, there is still no guarantee that it would pass or if it would force the White House to enter negotiations. However, they have continued to highlight among their members that party unity is their best chance of having the proposal pass, according to CNN.
The majority whip also faced questions regarding Rep. Matt Gaetz, who previously posted on Twitter regarding changes related to work requirements that he would have wanted to be included in the plan. Emmer said that while the Florida lawmaker was a valuable party member, he had a choice regarding the matter.
GOP leadership has, for months, tried to strategically lay the groundwork with the so-called five families of their conference. The effort was conducted outside conservative groups known to have influence over members and even with some Republican senators.
McCarthy's debt-limit plan is known as the "Limit, Save, Grow Act," and seeks to lift the country's debt limit by $1.5 trillion or until the end of March 2024. The 320-page proposal, introduced by Texas Republican and House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, details the federal spending cuts of roughly $4.5 trillion, said CBS News.
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