Rep. Dan Bishop on Tuesday became the first Republican to signal his support for ousting House Speaker Kevin McCarthy over an agreement with President Biden to hike the debt limit past the 2024 election.
Mr. Bishop, North Carolina Republican, said forcing a vote on Mr. McCarthy’s speakership was on the table if the debt-limit deal was pushed through the House.
“I think it’s got to be done,” said Mr. Bishop, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.
Mr. Bishop did not commit to offering a motion himself to remove Mr. McCarthy. Instead, he said the decision would be made in “conjunction with others.”
His comments came after a press conference at which the House Freedom Caucus lambasted the debt-limit deal.
“The Republican conference right now has been torn asunder,” said Rep. Chip Roy, Texas Republican. “No matter what happens, there’s going to be a reckoning about what just occurred, unless we stop this bill by tomorrow.”
SEE ALSO: Nancy Mace says Biden ‘outsmarted’ GOP on debt limit
The debt-limit deal would allow the U.S. government to keep borrowing above the authorized $31.4 trillion debt limit until Jan. 1, 2025, which was a win for Mr. Biden, who didn’t want to have another showdown over government borrowing before the 2024 presidential election.
In wins on the GOP side, the deal would claw back $40 billion in unspent coronavirus relief and trim IRS funding increases. Mr. McCarthy secured an immediate $1.4 billion cut to IRS funding and then the agreement to cut another $20 billion over the next two years, out of an $80 billion boost the agency is receiving over the next 10 years.
The debt deal also keeps domestic spending flat for the upcoming fiscal year. Defense spending is set to grow by more than $26 billion.
After this year, federal spending growth would be capped at 1% through 2025, which is more spending growth than Republicans wanted. Mr. Biden wanted no spending caps.
House Republicans initially sought a $130 billion cut to non-defense spending this year and a decade’s worth of spending caps. They also wanted to cancel Mr. Biden’s student-loan forgiveness program and rescind more than $200 billion in green energy tax credits that Democrats passed last year.
Refusing to meet those demands is viewed as a win for Mr. Biden.
“The agreement protects my and congressional Democrats’ key priorities and legislative accomplishments,” Mr. Biden said.
While the debt-limit deal is likely to garner sufficient support from Democrats and Republicans to become law, the danger for Mr. McCarthy is what comes afterward.
Earlier this year, Mr. McCarthy narrowly clinched the speakership after 15 ballots amid opposition from members of the Freedom Caucus.
• Haris Alic can be reached at halic@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.