Sin Mike Lee (R-UT) said Sunday that the Senate Republican Conference will work to strengthen House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) negotiating position as he tries to force President Joe Biden to negotiate a compromise with the debt limit
Lee collected an impressive 42 signatures, not including his own, from his Senate Republican colleagues for a letter sent Saturday to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) expressing support for combining an increase of the debt limit with spending cuts. Asked about the letter, which included Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as a signatory, on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Features, Lee said it was “imperative” that McCarthy enter the White House “in a position of bargaining power”.
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“Not only do we have the Republican conference in the Senate supporting what the Republicans in the House passed last week, but we also have a strong bloc of Republicans,” Lee said. “[We have] more than enough to block any kind of so-called “clean” debt ceiling bill, anything that raises the debt ceiling without substantial spending and budget reforms.”
“Whenever you have 41 senators who are not willing to close debate on any legislation, it cannot pass,” he added, explaining how 59 votes fall short of the 60-vote threshold. “Now we have more than enough to stop exactly the kind of legislation Joe Biden wants.”
Lee went on to say that two other Senate Republicans privately expressed support for the letter but declined to sign “for strategic reasons.” Those senators “indicated that they will appear with us in the votes,” he said, adding that there are “a couple of others who may still decide to join us.”
McCarthy was able to rally enough of the House Republican Conference to pass his proposed debt ceiling budget, which is intended to serve as an opening salvo in negotiations with the White House, late last month. Biden, backed by Senate Democrats, has remained steadfast in his refusal to negotiate on the debt limit.
The debt ceiling, or the maximum amount the federal government can borrow, will need to be raised or abolished sometime this summer to avoid a debt default. Economists have long warned that this flaw would wreak havoc on the economy.
McCarthy’s legislation combines nearly $4.8 trillion in deficit reduction measures with an increase in the debt limit next year. The bill would return funding for government agencies to 2022 levels and limit annual increases to about 1 percent annually, except for the Pentagon. It would also roll back parts of Biden’s sweeping health, climate and tax laws, expand mining and fossil fuel production and impose work requirements on social programs.
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The White House has denounced the bill as an attempt at political “hostage-taking” and vowed that Biden would veto it if it reached his desk, although the likelihood of such legislation passing the Senate, where Democrats control the chamber 51-49, is thin.
Asked if he was confident McConnell and other Senate Republicans would resist the fiscal pressures and stand firm, Lee said yes, saying, “Even if we lose one or two here or there, we’d still be fine, and I don’t think you’ll lose either.”
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