Republicans are coming to grips with the concessions that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy had to make to secure the speakership — including caps on spending that could cut defense programs, pairing a debt ceiling increase to spending cuts and allowing a single member to call for a vote ousting a sitting speaker.
Rep. David Joyce, a moderate Ohio Republican, told CNN that McCarthy should be concerned that a single member can force that vote of no-confidence on the speakership.
“I’m not the speaker. So it concerns Kevin more than it concerns me, but that just took it back the way it was originally. And I don’t think that is going to change the way we do business around here,” he said, adding it should only be used in the most extreme of circumstances. Asked if everyone agrees with that, Joyce told CNN: “probably not.”
Joyce added of the agreement McCarthy made with far-right members to tie a debt ceiling hike with spending cuts: “It concerns me,” noting Democrats control the WH and Senate.
Rep. Vern Buchanan, who wants to be chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, told CNN, of a debt-ceiling hike: “They’re gonna have to negotiate something. There’s gonna be some give and take.”
Rep. Mark Green, who is vying to be chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, told CNN of potential cuts to defense spending: “I understand the concerns on the right, about addressing those issues, but at the same time, we got to compete with China, we gotta compete with Russia.”
Rep. Tom Cole, the chair of the House Rules Committee, told CNN: “I’m willing to cut spending and we need to do that. I’m not willing to cut defense and that is half the discretionary budget. “
The agreement includes a cap on discretionary spending at fiscal 2022 levels — something that could lead to a cut in defense.