It was unclear early Wednesday if House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has the votes to pass a bill that would raise the debt limit to avoid a default crisis while also cutting spending.
McCarthy said some members who have concerns about his bill still “want to make sure the negotiation goes forward,” according to The Hill. Some of the concerns come from members representing agricultural districts that would be impacted by cuts to ethanol tax credits, as Axios reported.
There were enough of those holdouts late Tuesday to delay the bill.
Passing the bill through a narrowly divided House would represent an opening negotiation point for House Republicans as they continue a showdown with the White House and Senate Democrats about raising the debt limit by this summer, which is when the Treasury Department says the federal government may start to default on its debts.
It’s unlikely the House bill would get through the Senate, but “If the President were presented with the Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023, he would veto it,” the Office of Management and Budget said, according to Axios.
Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Olivia G. Ortiz