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House Republicans on Wednesday narrowly passed a bill that would increase the nation's debt ceiling while cutting federal government spending. While the legislation most likely will not become law, GOP leaders hoped it would help convince Democrats to join them, something that did not happen.
Top Republican lawmakers left their closed-door conference Wednesday morning confident that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's bill to increase the federal government's borrowing limit and cut federal spending would be successful.
McCarthy told reporters that he expected the vote to go ahead today but did not say whether he had 218 votes to go over the line. With his narrow majority, McCarthy can afford to lose a maximum of four Republican votes to pass what shaped up to be his biggest test as Speaker yet.
House Rules Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma, told reporters "I do" when asked if he thought there would be a vote on the bill today, after his panel led a six-hour overnight hearing to prepare the bill for the floor.
Republican leaders modified the bill overnight to allay concerns from key Republican factions that seemed poised to oppose it on Tuesday. The changes would soften the repeal of biofuel tax credits, a major concern for Midwestern Republicans whose districts rely on ethanol production and move the planned activation of work requirement legislation for federal benefits from 2025 to 2024.
Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, among Cornbelt Republicans who met with McCarthy yesterday over concerns about the bill, was a strong "yes" vote as of Wednesday morning, as was Rep. Derrick Van Orden, Republican of Wisconsin.
"McCarthy is showing leadership. He heard the lecture," Van Orden told reporters as he left the meeting Wednesday morning.
But other defectors, like Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C. and Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said they still leaned against the legislation.
"I'm still leaning no on the bill," Mace told reporters. "Here's an opportunity to show the nation that we can be responsible with spending and look at those reforms and statutes that the leaders support, and I spoke to them this morning and we'll see where that conversation goes today."
"I said no to the leadership," said Burchett, who was furious Tuesday that Republican negotiators skipped a planned meeting with him without warning. "I'm a no and come see me if you want to talk about it."
He told reporters that he would meet with party leaders today, but that he "simply can't get over a $32 trillion debt." Asked by reporters what he'd like to hear from the leadership if it's a resounding no, Burchett said, "true debt reduction."
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., did not tell reporters how he plans to vote, but complained about the rushed nature of the changes to the bill.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Lo., told a news conference after the closed-door meeting: "We'll be ready to act as soon as today...we want to get this over with as soon as possible. But more importantly, we want President Biden to finally start getting involved in this process."
The bill is highly unlikely to pass the Democratic-controlled Senate, and if it did, the president has already threatened to veto it if it reaches his desk. But Republicans hope the bill sets out the GOP position for talks with Democrats in the coming weeks.
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