Republicans might be facing a self inflected snag in their plans to tackle the national debt. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy may be lacking needed votes for his debt ceiling increase.
The current GOP proposal aims to trim $4.5 trillion in discretionary spending over a decade. In exchange for a $1.5 trillion debt ceiling raise, Republicans are asking to roll back spending to 2022 levels and place a 1% cap on future spending. It would also take back unspent pandemic funds.
President Joe Biden said last week the proposal was full of “wacko notions” and that Republicans wanted a default, to which McCarthy responded.
But with only a slim majority in the House, any Republican holdouts might kill the bill in a vote. Bloomberg reports that several moderates have issues biofuel rollbacks and a Medicaid work requirement.
On the flip side some GOP hard liners would like to see more concessions. Still, McCarthy is confident his proposal will pass.