Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is calling on Senate colleagues, including conservative members of his conference, not to drag out the consideration of the debt-limit deal, which could be delayed past the June 5 deadline if senators use every procedural tool available to slow it down.
McConnell applauded Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for winning significant concessions from President Biden, including a cut in non-defense discretionary spending, a recission in funding for the Internal Revenue Service, new work requirements for federal assistance programs and permitting reform for major energy projects.
“The Senate must act swiftly and pass this agreement without unnecessary delay,” McConnell said in a statement Sunday night that appeared directed at Senate conservatives who are thinking about slowing down the bill with procedural delays.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) on Thursday threatened to “use every procedural tool at my disposal to impede a debt-ceiling deal that doesn’t contain substantial spending and budgetary reforms.”
Several conservatives including Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) are criticizing the deal for extending the debt limit past the 2024 election while not doing enough to cut spending. They estimate it will add approximately $4 trillion to the debt.
Roy on Sunday panned the deal as a “turd sandwich” and threatened to round up enough Republicans votes to stop it from passing the House.
Lee on Sunday evening retweeted a claim that the deal would only cut 2.4 percent from the $80 billion in new funding the IRS received from a Democratic-controlled Congress last year and most of that cut would come a decade from now.
“Dems love this deal,” he tweeted.
McConnell, however, on Sunday praised the deal as “a much-needed step toward” fiscal reform.
McConnell endorses debt-limit deal, calls on Senate conservatives not to delay it | The Hill