Ted Cruz calls Kevin McCarthy’s debt deal a ‘blank check’ for Democrats

Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, signaled Sunday his opposition to a deal reached by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to increase the nation’s debt limit.

Biden and McCarthy, a California Republican, announced a tentative deal Saturday night to raise the debt limit to $31.5 trillion over two years while cutting federal spending. The deal comes just days before the United States is set to renege on its commitments, which experts say would have a devastating impact on the global economy.

The deal is being touted as a compromise, with neither side receiving everything on their wish list during negotiations. The agreement will extend the debt limit through January 2025, cap spending in the 2024 and 2025 budgets, revoke unused COVID-19 relief funds, cut IRS funding, and add requirements work for food aid programs, CNN reported.

The deal must now win the support of a majority of lawmakers in the US House of Representatives and Senate. Several factions in Congress are already threatening to withdraw their support for the deal. Progressive Democrats condemn the GOP spending cuts and new labor requirement. Meanwhile, many conservatives say the deal did not go far enough on spending and raising the debt ceiling without further cuts would be fiscally irresponsible.

In response to a clip of McCarthy praising the deal, Cruz indicated on Twitter that he may not support the deal when it comes up for a vote in the Senate.

“Right now, the Democrats are very upset. The only thing [House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries] He told me, there is nothing on the bill for them. There is nothing in the bill for the Democrats,” said the Speaker of the House.

Cruz disagreed in a tweet, saying there are “4 billion things” for Democrats.

“He’s right. There’s no ‘one thing’ for Democrats. There’s $4 trillion worth of stuff, a blank check, for Democrats. Plus 87,000 things: new IRS agents to harass Americans. All in return to eliminate virtually ALL spending cuts from the House,” the Republican lawmaker wrote Sunday afternoon.

news week reached out to McCarthy’s office for comment via email.

Legislation in the Senate typically requires 60 votes to pass due to the House’s filibuster, but senators voted to circumvent that mechanism to raise the debt ceiling in 2021, meaning only 51 votes were needed. . Democrats currently hold 51 seats in the Senate, meaning some sort of bipartisanship will likely be needed to get the bill through the chamber.

Opposition from various members of the House could also hinder the passage of the bill.

Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican, announced on Twitter that she would vote against the bill.

“Our base did not volunteer, they knocked on the door and fought so hard to get a majority for this type of compromise deal with Joe Biden. Our voters deserve better than this. We work for them. deal. We can do better,” the congresswoman tweeted Saturday night.

Meanwhile, the bill may also face resistance from some Democrats.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which she chairs, can also vote against the bill during an appearance on CNN Sunday, noting issues related to the work requirement. for food aid.

“It is bad policy. I said that directly to the president when he called me last week on Wednesday. This is telling poor and needy people that we don’t trust them. And the average amount of assistance for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) is $6 per day. We are talking about $6 per day. And I think it’s really unfortunate that the president has opened the door for this,” Jayapal said.