Rep. Chip Roy said that his GOP colleagues denied an offer from him and fellow members of the hardline House Freedom Caucus to support hiking the nation’s debt limit. 

Suspending the nation’s debt limit emerged as a last-minute policy demand from President-elect Donald Trump in December and nearly derailed House Speaker Mike Johnson’s attempt to prevent a government shutdown ahead of Congress’ Christmas break.

That near collision was due to debt hawks in the Freedom Caucus rejecting the initial proposal of raising the debt limit for two years. Instead, a tentative agreement was reached for a $1.5 trillion increase in the statutory borrowing limit that would be offset by $2.5 trillion in cuts over the next decade. 

Mr. Roy, Texas Republican, said on “The Jesse Kelly Show” Tuesday that he and other members of the Freedom Caucus pitched a plan to congressional Republicans and the incoming Trump administration that they believed was “a reasonable approach to increase the debt ceiling.”

The plan would have seen the ceiling raised for two years and involved a $4 trillion increase in the statutory borrowing limit in exchange for money to secure the southern border, defense funding, in particular $200 billion for modernization, and cutting what Mr. Roy called “Biden’s garbage.”

“We wanted upfront cuts and, in exchange for that, secure the border, defense and a debt ceiling increase for the president, but our swamp creature colleagues are rejecting that,” the congressman said.

The Freedom Caucus pitch was to tackle the debt limit, border and defense funding and spending cuts in a budget reconciliation bill before Republicans pursue an extension of the 2017 Trump tax cuts in a second reconciliation bill.

He contended that instead the focus from his House GOP colleagues has been on passing one massive budget reconciliation bill containing much of Mr. Trump’s agenda, including tax, border and energy policies. 

The GOP is using that filibuster-proof process to avoid negotiating with Democrats. But to pass the president-elect’s ambitious agenda, they must all get on the same page, given slim margins in both chambers. 

Mr. Johnson, Louisiana Republican, initially wanted to put the debt limit hike into the reconciliation mix, which many Republicans liked. But now he’s shifted his position, much to the ire of hardliners like Mr. Roy. 

An option floating within the House GOP is to pair a debt limit hike with an expected aid package to deal with the aftermath of the wildfires raging in California that would raise the debt limit for four years with an expected $10 trillion increase in statutory borrowing, Mr. Roy said. 

“I hope the president’s team comes in and rejects that and tells them it’s a bad idea,” he said. “We need to change the way this town works.” 

• Lindsey McPherson contributed to this report. 

• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.