Members of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus are signaling they could oppose a deal between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the White House, while also warning that dropping some of the spending cuts they have pushed for would “collapse the Republican majority for this debt ceiling increase.”
“I am concerned about rumors to the effect – and I haven’t read or seen anything yet – but rumors that we may have some sort of a deal in place that would raise the debt limit more than what was called for in Limit, Save, Grow (Act) for a whole lot less in return that we need from a policy standpoint, from a fiscal standpoint,” Rep. Bob Good, a Republican from Virginia, told CNN’s Manu Raju. “And if that were true, that would absolutely collapse the Republican majority for this debt ceiling increase.”
Asked how many House Republicans could vote against a deal, Good replied that “a majority” could find it unacceptable.
“I don’t want to make predictions because … I’ve just heard some rumors that there may be some sort of a deal that would be less than desirable I believe to a majority of Republicans, and so if that’s true I’m disappointed that that would be the case,” he said.
Rep. Ralph Norman, a Republican from South Carolina, said he is also concerned about the direction of the talks.
“Yeah, I am,” he said. “It looks like we’re watering it down, which is not acceptable.”
Rep. Chip Roy, a Republican from Texas and member of the House Rules Committee, warned it will take a hefty price to get his vote for the debt ceiling. He also would not commit to backing anything in the rules committee until he sees it.
On his own, Roy doesn’t have the power to block anything, but it is another sign of how conservatives are viewing the emerging deal.
Rep. Byron Donalds, a Republican from Florida, signaled he’d be a hard conservative to win if the deal with the White House isn’t similar to the debt limit bill passed by House Republicans in April.
Donalds said he didn’t feel members are being kept in the loop on the closely held negotiations.
“I am trying to be calm with my statements, but what I am trying to really stress is — at some point the American people do need to understand exactly what’s happening in this room, because if a deal is made just to try to save face on both sides of the aisle, history tells us that is a terrible thing.”
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said earlier Thursday he’s not concerned about conservative Republicans not supporting an eventual deal, saying “they just need to be updated.”
