Senate Republicans refrain from stepping on McCarthy’s toes amid debt limit battle

Republicans in the Senate Stand with the House on Debt Ceiling Deadlock

The debt ceiling deadlock is threatening to unleash fiscal havoc on the country, but Republicans in the Senate have shown very little inclination to get involved. Late last year, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was angered after over a dozen Republicans in the Senate went along with an omnibus spending package instead of delaying a vote until the GOP reclaimed the House. This go around, there appears to be little appetite among Senate Republicans to cross him.

Senator Mitt Romney told reporters, “Republicans, we in the Senate, stand with the House. We have our point of view. Time for the president to step in and say his point of view and do a deal.” More conservative members of the GOP Senate caucus, such as Senator Ted Cruz, have come out strongly in defense of their colleagues in the House, with the Texas Senator likening Biden’s behavior to that of a terrorist.

McCarthy’s Plan and Biden’s Refusal to Negotiate

McCarthy managed to wrangle through the Limit, Save, Grow Act as his plan to raise the limit on the nation’s borrowing authority in exchange for a heap of spending cuts, a proposal roundly rejected by Democrats. Biden has been adamant that anything other than a clean debt ceiling bill is unacceptable to him. The speaker’s confidence that the Senate GOP won’t rebel against him was on full display this week when he dared Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to bring a debt ceiling measure without strings attached to the Senate floor.

Senate Republicans Steer Clear of Debt Limit Impasse

Even more moderate and traditionally bipartisan members of the Senate GOP conference have largely steered clear of trying to achieve a breakthrough on the debt limit impasse. “The White House’s refusal to negotiate with the House on the debt limit is delaying work on critical fiscal matters. Now that the House has passed its plan, there is no excuse for the President not to negotiate with Speaker McCarthy. Those discussions should begin without delay,” said Senator Collins in a previous statement to the Washington Examiner.

• Senate Republicans stand with the House on the debt ceiling deadlock
• Biden refuses to negotiate on anything other than a clean debt ceiling bill
• McCarthy’s plan to raise the limit on the nation’s borrowing authority in exchange for spending cuts is rejected by Democrats
• Senate Republicans largely steer clear of trying to achieve a breakthrough on the debt limit impasse

If neither McCarthy nor Biden concedes, the Treasury Department’s “extraordinary measures” to prolong funding are projected to run out sometime between June and August, according to various estimates. McCarthy and Biden last met in February.

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