Before the full US House can vote on the tentative debt limit deal struck between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, it has to get through the chamber’s Rules Committee.
The panel must adopt a rule to allow the deal to be considered by the full House, and some conservatives are making their distaste for the deal clear.
To win his speakership, McCarthy agreed to name three conservative hard-liners — Reps. Ralph Norman, Chip Roy and Thomas Massie — to the Rules Committee, a major concession since the powerful panel is usually stacked with close allies of leadership.
There are currently nine Republicans and four Democrats on the Rules panel.
Norman and Roy have already emerged as sharp critics of the debt limit deal, while Massie has been quiet as he waits for bill text to be released.
If all three vote against the rule in committee, that would kill the bill — unless any of the Democrats on the panel vote to advance the rule.
Norman told CNN he would vote against the rule unless major changes are made to the bipartisan deal.
“Bottom line, if the debt limit is raised above the 1.5 level, and if the timeline extends to 2025, IF the student loan payout is still intact, if the IRS agent funding is still there, if the provisions in the IRA is still intact, if the work requirement EXCLUDES MEDICAID, I will vote against the rule,” he said in a text message.
Roy and Massie have not responded to CNN’s requests for comment on the rule.
If the rule is approved in committee, McCarthy must then limit defections to no more than four Republicans to get the rule approved on the floor — assuming all Democrats vote against it, as they typically do for rules.
Source: www.cnn.com