House conservatives on Wednesday revolted against a massive bipartisan deal to raise the debt ceiling and bust spending caps, complaining that the GOP could no longer lay claim to being the party of fiscal responsibility.
“I’m not only a ‘no.’ I’m a ‘hell no,’” quipped Rep. Mo Brooks
Morris (Mo) Jackson BrooksGOP leaders pitch children's health funding in plan to avert shutdown Kermit the Frog, Ellen Degeneres among write-ins in Alabama special election Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks reveals he has prostate cancer MORE (R-Ala.), one of many members of the Tea Party-aligned Freedom Caucus who left a closed-door meeting of Republicans saying they would vote against the deal.
It’s a “Christmas tree on steroids,” lamented one of the Freedom Caucus leaders, Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.).
“This spending proposal is disgusting and reckless — the biggest spending increase since 2009,” conservative Rep. Justin Amash
Justin AmashOvernight Defense: House votes to renew surveillance program | More drones, troops headed to Afghanistan | Former officers urge lawmakers to curb Trump's nuclear powers Overnight Tech: House votes to reauthorize surveillance powers | Twitter on defensive after Project Veritas video | Senate panel to hold hearing on bitcoin Overnight Cybersecurity: House votes to renew NSA spying | Trump tweets spark confusion | Signs Russian hackers are targeting Olympics | Bannon expected to appear before House Intel panel MORE (R-Mich.) tweeted after the meeting. “I urge every American to speak out against this fiscal insanity.”
The debt hike, in particular, is giving conservatives “heartburn,” said Rep. Dennis Ross
Dennis Alan RossCongress must use its tools to block consumer bureau’s payday loan rule The Hill's 12:30 Report Bill to ease Dodd-Frank rules gets chilly reception in House MORE (R-Fla.), a member of the GOP vote-counting team.
The swift backlash from fiscal hawks means that Speaker Paul Ryan
Paul Davis RyanMcConnell: 'Whoever gets to 60 wins' on immigration Overnight Defense: Latest on spending fight - House passes stopgap with defense money while Senate nears two-year budget deal | Pentagon planning military parade for Trump | Afghan war will cost B in 2018 House passes stopgap spending measure with defense money MORE (R-Wis.) and his leadership team will need dozens of Democratic votes to help get the caps-and-funding deal through the lower chamber to avert a government shutdown set for midnight Friday.
At the same time, some Republicans predicted a majority of the majority would back the package.
Former Republican Study Committee (RSC) Chairman Rep. Bill Flores
William (Bill) Hose FloresEmboldened conservatives press Ryan to bring hard-right immigration bill to floor House conservatives demand vote on tough border bill to avoid shutdown Congress should stand for rural America by enhancing broadband connectivity MORE (R-Texas), who said he will probably support the agreement, estimated that about two-thirds of the lawmakers who spoke at the microphones during the closed-door meeting actually voiced support.
Rep. Mark Meadows
Mark Randall MeadowsHouse passes stopgap spending measure with defense money Senate leaders say they're zeroing in on two-year budget deal Republican agenda clouded by division MORE (R-N.C.), the current Freedom Caucus chairman, predicted that the budget deal will get support from a majority of the majority, but not enough to pass without Democratic votes.
It’s unclear how many Democrats will support the plan without concessions from Ryan, given immigration demands from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro PelosiGOP lawmaker: Dems not standing for Trump is 'un-American' Rep. Gutiérrez: 'Complete betrayal' if Pelosi backs budget caps deal without DACA Senate leaders say they're zeroing in on two-year budget deal MORE (D-Calif.).
As Senate leaders announced their bipartisan agreement, Pelosi was on the floor threatening to oppose the emerging budget deal without a commitment to consider legislation in the House to protect young immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children, known as “Dreamers.”
But there are a lot of other items in the package that are attractive to Democrats, including money for opioids, disaster aid, more Children’s Health Insurance Program funding, community health center funding and the nondefense spending boost.
“We would need votes coming from both ways,” said Rep. Chris Collins
Christopher (Chris) Carl CollinsGOP rep: Dems’ State of the Union response not ‘treasonous,’ but ‘embarrassing’ Shutdown grinds into workweek after Senate fails to clinch deal Negotiators seek 'breakthrough' under deadline for a Senate vote MORE (R-N.Y.). “Pelosi I guess won’t vote for it, but … I do think we will have a number of Democrats that would break.”
It’s also possible more Republicans will back the legislation given opposition from Pelosi.
Rep. Mark Walker
Bradley (Mark) Mark WalkerJudge overturns ex-felon voting rights process in Florida House GOP Appropriations chairman calls it quits Emboldened conservatives press Ryan to bring hard-right immigration bill to floor MORE (R-N.C.), current RSC chairman, acknowledged in a tweet that the deal is “a struggle for any one with fiscal concerns,” but said he was more inclined to support it "the longer Nancy Pelosi bloviates on the House Floor."
The deal between Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellDems confront Kelly after he calls some immigrants 'lazy' McConnell: 'Whoever gets to 60 wins' on immigration Overnight Defense: Latest on spending fight - House passes stopgap with defense money while Senate nears two-year budget deal | Pentagon planning military parade for Trump | Afghan war will cost B in 2018 MORE (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) calls for raising the debt ceiling through March 2019 and busting budget caps imposed by the 2011 Budget Control Act. It would boost funding for the Pentagon and domestic programs by about $300 billion over current levels over the next two fiscal years, but lawmakers said that only about $100 billion of that would be offset.
The Bipartisan Budget Act also calls for an additional four years of funding for a popular children’s health program; $90 billion in additional disaster aid for hurricane-ravaged Florida, Puerto Rico and Texas; billions more to fight the opioid epidemic and funding for community health centers that serve the poor and uninsured.
The legislation would keep the government funded for another six weeks, through March 23. That should give lawmakers enough time to write an omnibus spending bill to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year.
Many fiscal hawks who were complaining the loudest Tuesday were among those lawmakers who rode an anti-spending, anti-debt Tea Party wave to Washington during the 2010 and 2012 cycles.
Rep. Scott Perry
Scott Gordon PerryGOP lawmaker: 'Something's not adding up' on Las Vegas shooting Live coverage: House, Senate in scramble as shutdown looms House conservatives demand vote on tough border bill to avoid shutdown MORE (R-Pa.) described the atmosphere inside the GOP conference room as “tense,” while Rep. Louie Gohmert
Louis (Louie) Buller GohmertWATCH: Republicans at odds over who would face blame for a shutdown GOP leaders pitch children's health funding in plan to avert shutdown House headed for cliffhanger vote on NSA surveillance MORE (R-Texas) said it was “kind of depressing” to think Republicans could be responsible for adding billions of dollars to the deficit when they control all the levers of power in Washington.
“It’s too much money,” Perry said.
Rep. Matt Gaetz
Matthew (Matt) GaetzThe Memo: Trump doubles down amid some GOP doubts GOP rep defends inviting alt-right activist to the State of the Union GOP rep invited alt-right activist to the State of the Union MORE (R-Fla.) quipped that fiscal hawks might now be an “endangered species.”
Meadows and Reps. Jim Jordan
James (Jim) Daniel JordanSenate leaders say they're zeroing in on two-year budget deal GOP to play hardball with Dems on funding bill GOP lawmakers say Trump would make mistake in firing Rosenstein MORE (R-Ohio) and Warren Davidson
Warren Earl DavidsonThe time is now for Trump to deliver on promise to US steelworkers House Republicans urge leaders to support estate tax repeal The 13 House Republicans who voted against the GOP tax plan MORE (R-Ohio) were among the members who stood up during the conference meeting to vent their frustration, lawmakers in the room said.
Retiring Banking Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling
Thomas (Jeb) Jeb HensarlingMnuchin: Stock markets are 'functioning very well' Cordray blasts consumer bureau's 'pseudo-leaders' over payday loan rule review Banks rack up big wins in Trump’s Washington MORE (R-Texas), a close Ryan friend, also railed against lifting the debt ceiling, sources said.
Jordan, a former Freedom Caucus chairman, said earlier in the day that he was disappointed by the tentative deal and expressed surprise that Ryan — who has staked his political career on being a fiscal hawk — would go along with the proposal.
“It’s a terrible deal,” Jordan said. “I never thought Speaker Ryan would be supportive of this … I just never thought the Speaker would go here with these high numbers.”
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Brooks slammed the deal as a “debt junkie’s dream.”
“I don’t know if we have enough votes amongst the members to stop this legislation,” the outspoken Alabama conservative said. “All I know is that unfortunately those who vote for this bill are betraying our country’s future and they are selling out our kids and our grandkids.
“I am baffled why the Republican Party has turned into such a big spending party. It is one thing to spend money; it is another thing to spend money you don’t have,” Brooks went on. “No American family can operate that way; no American business can operate that way, and it is folly to believe that the United States of America can operate that way.”
Some defense hawks were also upset over the proposal because of the inclusion of the debt ceiling.
Rep. Bradley Byrne
Bradley Roberts ByrneHouse passes landmark bill to overhaul sexual harassment policy on Capitol Hill Democrat forces vote over GOP lawmaker's poster on House floor House GOP backs three-week funding bill MORE (R-Ala.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said he was prepared to swallow the spending boost for domestic programs in exchange for the military bulk-up, but he was thrown off by raising the debt ceiling as part of the deal.
He declined to take a position on the package until he sees the final details, however.
Part of Ryan’s pitch to the conference, according to lawmakers who attended, was that the budget deal not only delivers a long-sought-after spending boost for the military, but it also clears the way for an honest debate over immigration if lawmakers don’t have the debt ceiling, the threat of government shutdown and other unresolved issues looming over their heads.
Cristina Marcos contributed