Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), one of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's (R-CA) chief antagonists, predicted that a deal to lift the debt ceiling won't imperil his speakership despite falling short of demands from conservatives in his conference.
The emerging deal being brokered between McCarthy and the White House would cap federal spending, but not at the levels the House Freedom Caucus has demanded and far short of the 10-year window passed in an April debt ceiling bill viewed as an opening offer in negotiations with the president.
WHITE HOUSE NOT BUDGING ON WORK REQUIREMENTS, CAUSING IMPASSE IN NEGOTIATIONS
The agreement is being shaped as hard-liners in both parties apply pressure on McCarthy and the president not to yield ground on areas such as work requirements for Medicaid.
Adding to the pressure cooker, both sides must agree to a deal and pass legislation with less than a week to go before a June 1 deadline to avoid default.
McCarthy has built goodwill with hard-liners in his conference since they almost derailed his speakership bid in January, but the threat of a "no confidence" vote is back of mind for any deal that he brokers.
In an encouraging sign for the speaker, Gaetz, one of the final holdouts in that speakership election, spoke positively of the budget talks on Thursday night and rejected the idea that McCarthy is in any danger of being deposed.
“I think the coalition opposed to this will be like the 'Squad’ and the Freedom Caucus, and it’ll rocket through the Senate after it passes the House,” Gaetz said during an event on Twitter Spaces. “And I think there’s no serious threat to McCarthy’s speakership.”
Gaetz speculated that the final deal would attract 140 to 160 Republicans on top of significant Democratic support, putting him at odds with allies such as Rep. Bob Good (R-VA), who said the agreement as it stood Thursday would "collapse" the Republican majority.
Republicans control the House 222 to 213.
The Freedom Caucus urged McCarthy in a Thursday letter to "hold the line" on the debt ceiling, while conservatives such as Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) have warned that the direction of talks is "not acceptable."
The House-passed bill, which incorporated most of the caucus's demands, including a rollback of President Joe Biden's legislative accomplishments, has been rejected by Democrats as a non-starter.
McCarthy dismissed concerns from his right flank on Friday in an impromptu press gaggle, saying those members "don't know what's in the deal."
Gaetz himself plans to vote against the agreement when it comes before Congress since it won't "at a baseline" dismantle the president's green energy agenda.
But he defended the progress McCarthy has made in talks with the White House as putting more "downward pressure on spending than we have gotten in any deal on the debt limit in my lifetime."
"He will get us more on work requirements than we have ever gotten since Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich," he said. "And he’ll get us more on energy than certainly anyone would have expected during the Biden presidency."
Republicans see room for a deal on energy permitting reform in a final agreement, though the prospect of additional work requirements, a top priority for Gaetz, is in doubt as Democrats urge Biden to preserve current standards for food stamps, TANF, and other entitlement programs.
The Floridian said the deal McCarthy gets is not entirely within his control and defended him from conservatives agitating to "throw the bum out."
"You can’t force Kevin McCarthy to deliver an outcome or deliver his head when he’s not in sole control of that outcome," Gaetz said. "And here, we control one-half of one-third of the government."
"Just because you disagree with someone on legislation or even disagree with their tactics, that is not a basis for removal," he added.
Gaetz's remarks reflect a surprising degree of pragmatism from one of the most conservative members of the Republican conference and an about-face from a man who once accused McCarthy of "squatting" in the speaker's office in the run-up to his election.
The Republican said Thursday that he took "some pride in stripping from McCarthy many of the powers of the speakership" — he agreed to deep concessions in January to win over hard-liners in his conference, including elevating them to key committee posts.
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But Gaetz, who finally voted "present" on the 15th round, a decision that cleared the way for McCarthy to become speaker, said those very concessions serve as a check on him and have made him the "best version of himself."
"We are seeing in Kevin McCarthy more servant leadership as speaker than we ever saw from him as minority leader or as whip or any of the roles that he’s had," he said, "because he understands what his limits are, and that is important for him, for me, for all of us, and I am grateful for it."