House Republicans, Pushing Past Divisions, Press for Debt Limit Vote
WASHINGTON — House Republican leaders pressed ahead on Wednesday with legislation to raise the debt ceiling while cutting spending and unraveling major elements of President Biden’s domestic agenda, scheduling a vote to bring up the bill even as they scrounged for support to pass it.
The measure, which would cut federal spending by nearly 14 percent over a decade, would undo some of Mr. Biden’s clean energy tax credits and student loan cancellation plan and impose stricter work requirements for federal nutrition and health programs starting next year. It would be dead on arrival in the Democratic-led Senate and at the White House, where Mr. Biden’s advisers have warned that it would draw his veto.
But Speaker Kevin McCarthy, whose reputation and influence were on the line in the steepest test he has faced since winning his post, has described the plan as a way to strengthen his hand as he seeks to force a debt confrontation with the president.
In a closed-door meeting with Republicans in the basement of the Capitol on Wednesday morning, Mr. McCarthy pleaded with his conference to back the measure so he could open negotiations with Mr. Biden, according to a person who attended the session and described his remarks on the condition of anonymity.
Source: The New York Times
