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MAGA Land Hates the Debt Ceiling Deal

Lauren Boebert
Lauren Boebert. Image Credit: YouTube Screenshot.

It’s no surprise Congresswoman Lauren Boebert often prefers to throw a wrench into a well-oiled machine to articulate a conservative point of view.

The Colorado firebrand is no friend of Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy either.

So, it is inevitable that she will not vote for the recent debt ceiling deal hatched by McCarthy and President Joe Biden.

“Our voters deserve better than this. We work for them. You can count me as a NO on this deal. We can do better,” Boebert wrote on Twitter

McCarthy must wrangle his conference and keep them satisfied enough to support his creation with the president, although many other Republicans are willing to support the deal. In this agreement, both Democrats and Republicans had to give up stipulations that they wanted to reach a successful negotiation, but extremists on both sides are not likely to vote for it.

Even though McCarthy and Biden were proud of their hard-fought outcome, the celebration was short-lived as conservatives and progressives were complaining that the Speaker and the president had sold them out. This is a natural progression of events, but the difference now is that the clock is winding down rapidly to the June 5 deadline when the country will run out of money and default on its debt without Republicans and Democrats agreeing to raise the debt limit.

The President Did His Part

To his credit, Biden seemed to be negotiating in good faith as he lauded the accord constructed between him and McCarthy. “The agreement represents a compromise, which means not everyone gets what they want,” Biden said in a statement on May 27.

The budget is to remain “roughly flat” into 2024, except for spending on defense and veterans. Money set aside for Covid-19 pandemic funds will be clawed back. Some people receiving SNAP benefits will have work requirements.

But a growing number of Republican lawmakers do not think the spending reductions went far enough.

The Freedom Caucus Is Mad

Congressman Ralph Norman said on Twitter that the “bill is insanity” and that the $4 trillion debt increase is not what the Republican-led House is what was originally agreed to.

Representative Matt Rosendale is also angry. He tweeted that “The Fiscal Irresponsibility Act fails to cut spending and continues to fund the Democrats’ and Biden Administration’s radical agenda. Montanans did not send me to Washington to support business as usual, which is why I will be voting AGAINST the Fiscal Irresponsibility Act.”

Republican Congressmen Bob Good and Ken Buck will likely vote no. Representative Chip Roy used some rank humor and called the agreement a “turd sandwich.”

Most Other Republicans Are On Board

McCarthy remains optimistic and believes that “95 percent” of the Republican conference supports the deal. It’s not clear what the holdouts want and how they plan to stick together. It could take a few votes once the measure comes to the House floor, unless moderate Democrats vote for it, and they are signaling they will. This would be enough to ultimately pass the bill if the centrist D’s can remain on board with Biden’s cajoling.

On the Republican side of the aisle. McCarthy is an excellent vote counter and soothsayer who excels at maximizing support on bills he wants to pass. He usually leans on people with a smile instead of an iron cudgel.

The legislation to raise the debt ceiling will be 99 pages and members should have time to read the whole thing and the doubters can seize on stipulations that are deal breakers. The first vote is planned for May 31, but it needs a passing tally in the House Rules Committee first. This vote should happen May 30.

Unfortunately for McCarthy, two of the bill’s opponents, Norman and Roy, sit on that committee. McCarthy may have to begin the arm twisting with the two holdouts on the panel before progressing to whipping the other opponents, including his enemy Boebert, who did not support his Speaker run. She is likely to remain a fly in the ointment.

That is only an analysis of the House of Representatives. After passage there, the bill goes to the Senate that will need at least 60 votes to break a filibuster. However, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer are ready to line up votes to make sure the final measure succeeds.

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Author Expertise and Experience: Serving as 19FortyFive’s Defense and National Security Editor, Dr. Brent M. Eastwood is the author of Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare. He is an Emerging Threats expert and former U.S. Army Infantry officer. You can follow him on Twitter @BMEastwood. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and Foreign Policy/ International Relations.

Written By

Now serving as 1945s New Defense and National Security Editor, Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare. He is an Emerging Threats expert and former U.S. Army Infantry officer.

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