Willie R. Tubbs, FISM News
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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has joined the list of more than 40 Republicans in the upper chamber who say they’ll oppose raising the debt ceiling unless the measure is paired with profound changes to the federal government’s spending habits.
Late last week, McConnell signed a letter along with dozens of his Republican colleagues vowing to fight against “any bill that raises the debt ceiling without substantive spending and budget reforms.”
“Senate Republicans Are Shoulder-To-Shoulder With Speaker [Kevin] McCarthy On Debt Limit Negotiations,” a tweet from McConnell’s press office reads.
Senate Republicans Are Shoulder-To-Shoulder With Speaker McCarthy On Debt Limit Negotiations https://t.co/QPte1gRt3Y
— Senator McConnell's Press Office (@McConnellPress) May 4, 2023
McConnell, who has in the past been criticized on the right for being too chummy with President Joe Biden, seems to have sided solidly with Republicans at least in part because of the president’s refusal to negotiate until the 11th hour.
Last Wednesday, in remarks from the Senate floor, McConnell chided President Joe Biden for being “MIA” while a debt crisis brewed.
“Months of inaction from President Biden have left our nation drifting toward economic disaster,” McConnell said. “His own administration says our nation is only weeks away from a debt crisis. But there has been a total absence of presidential leadership … First, the president said he would not negotiate unless Speaker McCarthy and House Republicans passed their own bill. So they did. Our Republican colleagues in the House passed a responsible bill. It’s the only legislation currently in existence that can pass even one chamber of Congress, let alone both.”
The letter was addressed to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and is part of a push being headed by Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee.
“[Forty-three] Senate Republicans have signed a letter refusing to advance any bill that raises the debt ceiling without substantive spending and budget reforms,” Lee tweeted. “The White House is going to have to come to the table and have real talks with @SpeakerMcCarthy.”
Biden is scheduled to meet with congressmen from both parties Tuesday.
With 43 Republicans in the fold, Republicans have enough votes to prevent a vote on any bill through various parliamentary maneuvers, including the filibuster.
“As Kevin McCarthy, speaker of the House, meets with the White House, it’s imperative that he arrive in a position of negotiating power,” Lee told Fox News Host Maria Bartiromo Sunday. He later added, “We’ve now got more than enough to stop exactly the kind of legislation that Joe Biden wants.”
McConnell is set to meet with President Biden to negotiate a debt limit deal on Tuesday alongside House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).