Debt ceiling deal clears first hurdle with House panel and advances for debate
The bipartisan debt ceiling deal brokered by Joe Biden and Kevin McCarthy passed an important hurdle Tuesday evening, advancing to the full House of Representatives for debate and an expected vote on passage on Wednesday even amid opposition from far-right Republicans.
Earlier in the day, McCarthy, the Republican speaker of the US House, had insisted that supporting the debt ceiling deal would be “easy” for his party and it was likely to pass through Congress despite one prominent rightwinger’s verdict that the proposed agreement is a “turd sandwich”.
The House rules committee voted 7-6 Tuesday to allow debate by the full chamber, with two committee Republicans bucking party leadership and opposing the bill. Their opposition underscored the need for Democrats to help pass the measure in the House, which is controlled by Republicans with a narrow majority.
But amid loud denunciations from the Republican right and also from closer to the centre, McCarthy said he was not worried the agreement would fail, or that it would threaten his hold on the speaker’s gavel.
The bill is the “most conservative deal we’ve ever had”, McCarthy told reporters, of a two-year agreement that includes spending freezes and rescinding Internal Revenue Service funding while leaving military and veterans spending untouched.
Negotiators fielded by McCarthy and Joe Biden reached the deal to raise the $31.4tn US debt ceiling last weekend.
A default would be likely to have catastrophic consequences for the US and world economies. The treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, has said that will happen on 5 June if no bill is passed.
But members of the far-right House Freedom Caucus have balked at the deal.
Chip Roy of Texas, who in January played a key role in securing
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