GOP debates defense spending, says Byron Donalds.

House Republicans Deliberate Defense Spending Amid Debt Ceiling Battle

Byron Donalds Reveals Internal Discussions

House Republicans are currently in the midst of internal deliberations regarding defense spending amidst the ongoing debt ceiling battle. Representative Byron Donalds (R-FL) recently revealed that the party is discussing the importance of military preparedness while also considering the need to avoid massive radical increases in the Department of Defense budget.

Recently, Republican negotiators rejected a proposal from the White House for spending caps on both military and discretionary spending. As a result, spending clawbacks that the GOP is seeking could run even deeper into domestic programs than the Democrats want. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has suggested capping growth in spending to the fiscal year 2022 levels with a roughly 1% increase a year. However, some economists warn that due to inflation, this could result in net real cuts to those programs.

Donalds Speaks Out

Donalds, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, recently spoke out about the ongoing negotiations. He expressed frustration with the lack of clarity regarding the deal on the table and criticized the White House for proposing to spend an additional $30 billion more than they already wanted to spend. When asked if he could be comfortable with a compromise deal he doesn’t personally like, Donalds was coy in his response.

However, he did underscore that he was not “comfortable” with breaching past the June 1 “X-date,” in which the United States may run out of cash to meet all of its obligations on time. “This should have been done 100 days ago. House Republicans have been working on this for three months,” he said.

What’s Next?

Negotiations between representatives for McCarthy and the White House stalled over the weekend, with the speaker arguing the Biden administration “moved backwards.” President Joe Biden is expected to hold a phone call with McCarthy on his return flight back to the U.S. from the Group of Seven summit in Japan to discuss the debt limit impasse.

Key Takeaways:

• House Republicans are internally deliberating on defense spending amidst the debt ceiling battle.
• Republican negotiators recently rejected a proposal from the White House for spending caps on both military and discretionary spending.
• Donalds expressed frustration with the lack of clarity regarding the deal on the table and criticized the White House for proposing to spend an additional $30 billion more than they already wanted to spend.
• Negotiations between representatives for McCarthy and the White House stalled over the weekend.
• President Joe Biden is expected to hold a phone call with McCarthy to discuss the debt limit impasse.

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