Several rank-and-file Republicans have expressed their anger toward House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for his debt ceiling deal, arguing the GOP leader “got rolled” and offered a crucial win to Democrats and President Joe Biden.
Meanwhile, some conservative groups are seeking to reclaim the narrative, instead painting Biden as the loser of the whole ordeal.
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The American Action Network, a conservative nonprofit group aligned with McCarthy, is launching a campaign seeking to portray Biden as the one who actually got the raw end of the deal, while Republicans got exactly what they wanted. The 30-second ad features comments from a handful of high-profile Democrats such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who described the debt ceiling bill as a bad deal.
“Why are liberals so angry about the debt deal? Because Speaker McCarthy and the House rolled Biden, delivering wins for conservatives and taxpayers,” the ad says.
The ad highlights a number of provisions in the debt ceiling bill, such as a clawback of unspent COVID-19 money and a rescission of funding originally meant to go toward the Internal Revenue Service. Those measures, among others, have been repeatedly touted by McCarthy as key wins for conservatives.
But Democratic leaders are also taking credit for the deal passing, arguing it was their votes that helped push the bill past the finish line. Some have even gone so far as to suggest the deal came at the expense of the Republican majority.
The bill passed the House with mostly Democratic support — 165 votes compared to 149 Republicans — which has prompted some backlash from hard-line conservatives who say the deal is a loss for their party.
That anger reached a boiling point on Tuesday after 12 Republicans voted against a GOP-led bill to restrict federal regulations of natural gas stoves, a move they said was an act of defiance against House leadership. The intraparty rebellion has also raised questions about whether any member would consider filing a motion to vacate against McCarthy.
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No House Republican has followed through with those threats, although one GOP aide told the Washington Examiner last week there are “definitely rumblings among HFC members” about doing so. Meanwhile, McCarthy has brushed off talk of a possible “no confidence” vote, expressing confidence in his leadership position.
“Everybody has the ability to do what they want,” he said on Wednesday. “But if you think I’m going to wake up in the morning and ever be worried about that? Doesn’t bother me.”