Massie breaks ceiling streak of ‘no’ votes, enabling GOP House to pass debt limit bill
WASHINGTON — The entirety of Kentucky’s Republican House delegation voted to increase the nation’s debt limit, lending its cohesive support to narrowly pass a deal Wednesday evening that will all likely die in the U.S. Senate.
Even hardline fiscal hawk Rep. Thomas Massie approved the measure that would pare back President Joe Biden’s agenda in exchange for avoiding a default on the nation’s pending bills.
“We need serious reforms to reduce our deficits,” Massie said following his surprising “yes” vote. “I voted for the Limit, Save, Grow Act to put the brakes on reckless spending. If spending isn’t cut now, inflation will continue to reduce real wages, devalue retirements and imperil the dollar as the world’s currency.”
This was the first time Massie has ever voted to increase the debt ceiling during his time in Congress. It came at a crucial moment given that the bill only cleared the House by two votes, 217-215.
Four Republicans opposed the measure: Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Ken Buck of Colorado and Tim Burchett of Tennessee.
Rep. Andy Barr signaled his support for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s measure earlier in the week, claiming it would “limit federal spending, save trillions in taxpayer dollars and create a stronger economy.”
While Wednesday’s vote is a clear win for McCarthy’s leadership and a signal to the Biden administration of GOP unity around conditions to hike the nation’s borrowing limit, it is only the first round in a battle that could play out for months.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who has deferred to McCarthy for the details of a deal, has railed against the Biden administration for its disengagement and refusal to negotiate on spending cuts.
“The White House is totally M.I.A,” McConnell said Tuesday. “[Biden’s] position has been no negotiation and no reforms.It’s such an absurd position that even fellow Democrats are not buying it.”
And on Wednesday, McConnell heaped praise on McCarthy for a “wonderful job of unifying our side.”
But he added a dose of reality to the dicey path ahead: “I want to disabuse any of you of the notion that there’s any measure clearing the Senate with 60 votes that could be approved by this House.”
The freshly passed House GOP measure combines a debt limit increase with $4.8 trillion in spending cuts,
Democrats are attempting to frame the GOP position as holding the entire economy hostage to implement draconian policy cuts that will “take food off kitchen tables, pull kids out of child care, evict families from their homes, and tear hard-earned health benefits away from our veterans,” as described by House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts.
If the House and Senate can’t agree to a package that President Biden will sign by June, the U.S. could risk its first default, something McConnell has always stressed would be avoided
“This agreement must be reached because we must never default and the agreement must be reached between the Speaker and the president,” McConnell said Wednesday. “The American people expect the president and the Speaker to get together and work this out.”