Ahead of debt ceiling vote, Biden endorses Democrats; McCarthy fights for Republican support

The debt ceiling and budget cuts package head for a crucial vote in the US House of Representatives as President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy assemble a coalition of centrist Democrats and Republicans to push its passage after fierce pushback from Conservatives and some dissident progressives.

Biden will send senior White House officials to meet early Wednesday on Capitol Hill to bolster support ahead of the vote. McCarthy is working hard to win over his skeptical fellow Republicans, even dodging challenges to his leadership, in the rush to avoid a potentially disastrous US default.

Despite the deep disappointment of right-wing Republicans that the compromise falls short of the spending cuts they demanded, McCarthy insisted he would have the necessary votes to secure passage.

“We are going to pass the bill,” McCarthy said as he left a long meeting Tuesday night on Capitol Hill.

Speedy approval by the House and later this week by the Senate would ensure that government checks continue to go to Social Security recipients, veterans and others, and prevent financial disruption at home and abroad. Next Monday is when the Treasury has said the United States will run out of money to pay its debts, risking an economically dangerous default.

The package leaves few lawmakers completely satisfied, but Biden and McCarthy are counting on garnering majority support from the political center, a rarity in divided Washington, testing the leadership of the president and the Republican president.

Overall, the 99-page bill restricts spending for the next two years, suspends the debt ceiling until January 2025 and changes policies, including new work requirements for older Americans receiving food aid and gives the green light. to a controversial natural gas line in Appalachia that many Democrats oppose.

For more than two hours Tuesday night, as aides brought pizza to the Capitol, McCarthy walked Republicans through the details, answered questions and encouraged them to keep an eye on the bill’s budget savings.

The Speaker of the House faced a sometimes difficult crowd. Leaders of the far-right House Freedom Caucus spent the day criticizing the compromise for failing to meet the spending cuts they demand, vowing to try to stop it from passing Congress.

“This deal fails, it completely fails,” said Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pen., chair of the Freedom Caucus, earlier in the day, flanked by others outside the Capitol. “We will do everything in our power to stop it.”

A much larger conservative faction, the Republican Study Commission, refused to take a position. Even the centrist rank and file Conservatives weren’t sure, leaving McCarthy desperately seeking votes.

Rep. Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican, said that after “healthy debate” late into the night, it was still a no.

Ominously, the Tories warned of the possibility of trying to oust McCarthy over the compromise.

“There will be a reckoning,” said Rep. Chip Roy of Texas.

Biden was speaking directly with lawmakers, making more than 100 individual calls, the White House said.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the spending restrictions in the package would reduce deficits by $1.5 trillion over the decade, a top goal for Republicans trying to curb the debt burden.

McCarthy told lawmakers the number would be higher if the two-year spending limits were extended, which is no guarantee.

But in a surprise that could further erode Republican support, the GOP campaign to impose work requirements on older Americans receiving food stamps ends up increasing spending by $2.1 billion over the time period. That’s because the final agreement exempted veterans and the homeless, expanding food stamp rolls by about 78,000 people each month, the CBO said.

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said it was up to McCarthy to win the votes of roughly two-thirds of the Republican majority, a high bar the Republican leader may not be able to meet. Some 218 votes are needed for his approval in the 435-member House.

Still, Jeffries said Democrats would do their part to avoid failure.

“I hope House Republicans keep their promise and deliver at least 150 votes on a deal they brokered,” Jeffries said. “Democrats will make sure the country doesn’t default.”

[Con información de The Associated Press]

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