Despite blowback from some Republicans and some Democrats, the debt-ceiling deal has advanced out of committee and is now on track for a floor vote in the House of Representatives.
With just days to go before a possible default on U.S. financial obligations, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Biden are rallying their members to back the bill.
Members of the House Freedom Caucus are opposing the debt ceiling compromise, but it narrowly passed the House Rules Committee by a 7 to 6 vote with two Republicans and all four Democrats voting no.
With the threat of default looming, and hours before the debt limit deal brokered by Biden and McCarthy faces a pivotal vote, some progressive Democrats and conservative Republicans are coming out against it, accusing their leadership of making too many concessions.
Rep. Greg Cesar (D-Texas) told reporters, "Many progressives including me lean no."
"Not one Republican should vote for this deal. It is a bad deal. No one sent us here to borrow an additional 4 trillion dollars to get absolutely nothing in return," said Rep. Chip Roy, a Republican from Texas.
The Congressional Budget Office predicts the bill will lower the deficit by $1.5 trillion over 10 years.
It calls for:
- Suspending the debt ceiling until January 2025
- Clawing back $30 billion in COVID relief
- Rescinding $20 billion in IRS funding
- Ending the federal student loan re-payments freeze in August
- And adding new work requirements for some Americans on food assistance.
The White House and Speaker McCarthy are now racing to rally support. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre told reporters, "Our senior team made individual calls to all House Democratic leadership."
And in the Senate, though top leaders Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell are backing the deal, there are breaks in the ranks.
"I have a lot of concerns about this agreement. It's about taking food away from people who are hungry," Sen. Elizabeth Warren of (D-MA) claimed.
"I think the Biden-McCarthy debt deal's a disaster for the country," Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul said.
But will it pass? Nathan Gonzales of Inside Elections told CBN's Faith Nation, disagreement can be a good thing. "Maybe it's a good compromise if you're hearing criticism from the right and from the left," Gonzales said.
However, the rift in the G.O.P. could put Speaker McCarthy's leadership in jeopardy as a new rule allows just one member to challenge him. On Tuesday's Faith Nation program, CBN News reporter Matt Galka explained, "If enough Republicans are mad about this deal, if they feel they did indeed get rolled by the Biden administration, this would be the first true test of that motion to vacate rule change."
But first, the deal has to pass Congress before the June 5th deadline. The final House vote is expected Wednesday night.
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