Top Congress Leaders Back Debt Ceiling Bill Despite Criticism.

All major congressional leaders have signaled their support for Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) debt ceiling deal despite backlash from members of both parties.

On May 27, after a months-long standoff, McCarthy announced that he and President Joe Biden had reached “an agreement in principle” to raise the debt ceiling “that’s worthy of the American people.” In addition to raising the debt ceiling, the bill would cap non-defense spending at its previous levels, enhance work requirements for government assistance, and reclaim unspent COVID-19 relief funds, among other measures.

Since then, most congressional leaders have signaled support for the deal, dubbed the Fiscal Responsibility Act, even as it faces criticism from both the left and the right.

• For progressives like Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the package is too right-wing.
• The right-wing of the GOP, likewise, has decried the deal as a “surrender” to the left, saying it concedes too much to Democrats.
• The House Freedom Caucus, a powerful force in the House GOP, has also signaled it’s against the deal.

Despite bipartisan discontent with the package, major congressional leaders have each signaled their support for it.

Leaders Show Support

• McCarthy, who led GOP negotiations with Democrats on the package, said of the measure “there’s so much in this that’s positive.”
• House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), GOP House Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), and Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) called it “a historic series of wins” in a statement.
• House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) was noncommittal. However, he suggested that the bill would be instrumental in “avoiding a catastrophic default,” and suggested he expects Democrat support for the package.
• Reports also claim that Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the former House majority whip, has been rallying support for the package behind-the-scenes.

The package has also won the support of most congressional leaders, despite criticism from both sides of the aisle. It remains to be seen whether the deal will ultimately pass, but for now, it seems that McCarthy’s debt ceiling deal has the backing of some of the most influential figures in Congress.