Republicans narrowly passed a debt ceiling increase on Wednesday night by the thinnest of margins: 217-215 (with four GOP defections). The increase is conditioned upon $4.8 trillion in federal deficit reduction measures which will guarantee a veto from Joe Biden assuming it gets that far. Meanwhile, the handful of GOP rebels complained that merely cutting the rate of spending growth was insufficient.
“The House Republicans just passed the only bill in Washington that lifts the debt limit, ends wasteful Washington spending, and puts America back on the right economic path,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy explained in a celebratory press conference.
All three New Jersey Republicans – Jeff Van Drew (NJ-02), Chris Smith (NJ-04), and Tom Kean Jr. (R-07) – voted with House leadership.
Democrats (including New Jersey’s members) unanimously opposed the GOP proposal.
Other provisions in the legislation include spiking the Biden Administration’s controversial student loan forgiveness scheme which is currently undergoing a legal challenge.
U.S. House PASSES Debt Limit & Federal Spending Bill, 217-215.
Goes now to U.S. Senate. pic.twitter.com/yA7hxcJaC3
— CSPAN (@cspan) April 26, 2023