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More than 30 Republican lawmakers now say they will vote against passing new debt ceiling legislation Wednesday evening when the bill moves to the full House for vote. Photo by Pat Benic/UPI

More than 30 Republican lawmakers now say they will vote against passing new debt ceiling legislation Wednesday evening when the bill moves to the full House for vote.
Photo by Pat Benic/UPI | License Photo

May 31 (UPI) — More than 30 Republican lawmakers now say they will vote against passing new debt ceiling legislation Wednesday evening when the bill moves to the full House for vote.

The opposition group is made up of both far-right leaning members of the House Freedom Caucus, as well as others who voted for Speaker Kevin McCarthy‘s leadership bid in January.

Not all representatives have yet declared which way they intend to vote on the legislation, which cleared the House Rules Committee Tuesday by a 7 to 6 vote.

McCarthy said he will adhere to policy and give his members 72 hours to read the bill, meaning voting will not start until Wednesday evening.

“Washington is broken,” first-term Rep, Nancy Mace, R-S.C. said in a tweet Tuesday.

“After reading the bill, twice, I’m voting NO on the debt ceiling debacle because playing the DC game isn’t worth selling out our kids and grandkids.”

Fellow first-term Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, who supported McCarthy in the marathon voting process to be elected Speaker earlier this year, also voiced displeasure with the bill as it currently stands.

“I am a NO on the Biden-McCarthy Debt Ceiling Agreement,” Hunt said in a Tweet.

If passed, the bill would suspend the debt limit into January 2025, allowing the United States to avoid what would be its first-ever default in the coming days.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas and Rep. Ralph Norman, R-N.C. both belong to the House Rules Committee, voting against sending the legislation forward to the House floor for a full vote.

Both will also vote against the bill Wednesday, which requires a simple majority or 218 votes to pass the 435-member House of Representatives.

Roy and Norman are part of the House Freedom Caucus and will be joined by at least 19 other members who had declared as of 12 p.m. Wednesday how they intend to vote.

Other Freedom Caucus members who have said publicly they will vote against the bill Wednesday include Reps. Bob Good, R-Va.; Matt Rosendale, R-Mont.; Andy Biggs, R-Ariz.; Andrew Clyde, R-Ga.; Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.; Dan Bishop, R-N.C.; Byron Donalds, R-Fla.; Eli Crane, R-Ariz.; Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla.; Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.; Marry Miller, R-Ill., Josh Brecheen, R-Okla.; Scott Perry, R-Pa.; Eric Burlison, R-Mo.; Ben Cline, R-Va.; Mike Collins, R-Ga.; Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo.; Diana Harshbarger, R-Tenn.; and Michael Cloud, R-Texas

Many also voted against McCarthy’s leadership bid while all are arguing for greater cuts to government spending in exchange for raising the debt ceiling.

“The bill doesn’t actually set a debt limit. Rather it suspends the debt limit entirely until Jan. 2, 2025, and there is no actual amount capping the debt ceiling,” tweeted Mace, who once worked on an election campaign for former president Donald Trump.

McCarthy supporters Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo.; Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla.; Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla.; and Rep. Russell Fry, R-S.C. also announced their opposition to the deal, as have Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas; Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla.; Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla.; and Rep. William Timmons, R-S.C.

“The Limit, Save, Grow Act was a fiscally responsible and conservative bill. This Biden-McCarthy Debt bill is NOT what we signed,” Mills tweeted Tuesday.

“I oppose the new deal and refuse to saddle Americans with $4 trillion in additional debt.”

Republican Reps. Tim Burchett of Tennessee and Clay Higgins of Louisiana have hinted they intend to vote against the bill but were still going through the document Wednesday afternoon.

Opposition extends across the aisle as well, though the bill is widely expected to pass. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas both stated their intention to vote against the legislation Wednesday.

Jayapal told NBC News her entire progressive caucus is leaning towards voting the same direction, arguing the deal cuts programs and spending to the most vulnerable.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said the government has until June 5 before it runs out of money to pay its bills, which would result in its first-ever default.

Should the bill pass the House Wednesday, it would then need to get through a U.S. Senate committee before the upper chamber votes on it.



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