Democrats ‘underestimated McCarthy’ on debt ceiling, Senate Republicans say

Several Senate Republicans said they think House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is in a new position of power in debt ceiling negotiations after the White House and Democrats “underestimated” his ability to narrowly pass a debt ceiling bill last week.

“I think [Democrats] maybe did underestimate what the House was able to do, and they underestimated the support from Republican Senators,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) told the Washington Examiner. “Republicans put forward requests that are not unreasonable. They may not be requests that every Democrat will support, but the starting point is a legitimate one, and now it’s a legitimate discussion, a legitimate negotiation, and I look forward to seeing what comes with it.”

SENATORS POUR COLD WATER ON SHORT-TERM DEBT LIMIT EXTENSION

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) also applauded McCarthy’s ability to cobble together enough votes and credits the move as one that forced President Joe Biden to the table to negotiate.

“Up until yesterday, Biden’s position was that he would not negotiate. He would not even discuss using the debt ceiling to impose reasonable limitations on spending,” Cruz said. “I’m glad Biden was forced to concede that position. Democrats bet against Kevin McCarthy. I think the House did a phenomenal job coming together and standing together.”

Nearly a month ago, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) criticized McCarthy for not producing a GOP proposal to avert a debt ceiling crisis, accusing the Republican leader of being vague because he is unable to get enough votes.

“Show us your plan,” Schumer said during a press conference on March 28, a line he had been using since early January. “The reason he doesn’t want to do it, in my humble judgment, it’s because he can’t get 218 votes for any plan.”

The House narrowly passed McCarthy’s debt ceiling bill last Wednesday along party lines with a 217-215 vote, with just four Republicans voting against the measure. The passage comes after days of marathon meetings and hourslong deliberations among Republicans to craft legislation that could give McCarthy leverage as he looks to make a deal with Biden.

The legislation pairs nearly $4.8 trillion in deficit reduction measures with a debt limit increase into the next year. The bill would freeze spending at last year’s levels for a decade and would also roll back parts of Biden’s expansive health, climate, and tax law, expand mining and fossil fuel production, and impose work requirements on social programs. The bill comes after Republicans, for months, tried and failed to unite around a specific budget blueprint that would detail spending cuts they want in exchange for raising the debt ceiling. But instead of a budget, Republicans unveiled the Limit, Save, Grow Act.

McCarthy accepted Biden’s invitation on Tuesday to meet with him and other top congressional leaders at the White House on May 9, ending a monthslong impasse between the two leaders over the looming deadline, although there does not appear to be a deal anywhere in sight.

Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) said he is unsure if Democrats made a miscalculation with McCarthy but emphasized he’s encouraged both sides have recently agreed to meet.

“I see it as a good thing that the president is finally saying he’s willing to sit down,” Moran said. “Long time coming, pretty late. Should have been done a long time ago.”

SCHUMER SAYS THERE IS NO GOP DEBT PLAN BECAUSE MCCARTHY ‘CAN’T GET 218 VOTES’ FOR ONE

Schumer on Tuesday sidestepped questions about why Democrats believe there’s no need to negotiate after Republicans passed a bill in the lower chamber. He is still standing by his previous stance that the debt limit should be raised before Democrats negotiate spending cuts.

“These cuts, as we have pointed out, as our hearings will, are so draconian, the American people don’t want them. This is not even a plan,” Schumer said during a press conference. “This is a hard right-wing wish list that everyone knows has no chance of passing.”

Democratic senators downplayed the passage of the legislation in the House and claimed the House speaker is in the weaker position when it comes to negotiations.

“It wasn’t any great feat for the speaker to get this through the House. It was literally a competition among his far-right members to craft the worst piece of legislation possible to send to the Senate,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) said Tuesday. “The fact is the speaker of the House is in a much weaker position within his own conference than John Boehner was 12 years ago.”

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) disputes the idea that Democrats and the White House underestimated McCarthy’s ability to wrangle his members and pass a debt limit plan.

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“I guess I didn’t calculate that he wouldn’t be able to do it. I think what he passed is wildly irresponsible and has no chance of getting a majority or getting signed by the president,” Murphy told the Washington Examiner.

“If you’re not actually trying to pass legislation, it’s not super hard to organize votes in this place. It’s harder if you’re actually trying to pass a bill,” Murphy added.