Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy talks to reporters as he walks to the House floor for a procedural vote ahead of the final vote for H.R. 3746 – Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 on May 31.
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House lawmakers are debating a piece of compromise legislation brokered between President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to avoid an unprecedented debt default with just days to spare.
“I could say, ‘I’m going to vote no because there’s something not in the bill.’ If I took that philosophy, I would never vote yes,” McCarthy said on the floor, nodding to a faction in his conference unhappy with the deal.
“I simply read the bills in front of me and decide is this good for the country. I would say that answer is easily yes,” McCarthy added. “For the first time in more than a decade, Congress will spend less next year than this year.”
The 99-page bill cleared a procedural hurdle Wednesday afternoon with bipartisan support. Democratic lawmakers initially held back on voting on the rule needed to advance the legislation, leaving Republicans to be the only ones voting in favor of the rule for several minutes.
“I probably would’ve done the same thing,” McCarthy said of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ choice to wait until the last minute to give his members the green light to vote. “Well played.”
A similar strategy may be on display at the evening vote as well, with Democratic lawmakers waiting on the floor to see how many Republicans support it first.
“You may see that,” New Hampshire Rep. Annie Kuster told NPR.
“I think it’s appropriate for our constituency to know what is the level of support within the Republican caucus, and to single out how many members of that…
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