House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) have refuted claims made by four Democratic sources who alleged that the two leaders had struck a deal to secure Democratic votes for the debt ceiling bill’s advancement, Axios reported.
The deal reportedly involved the provision of federal funding for projects in Democrat districts.
On Wednesday night, the Biden-McCarthy spending bill known as the Fiscal Responsibility Act (H.R. 3746) passed the GOP-controlled House with MORE Democrat votes than Republicans.
149 Republicans voted “Yes” while 71 Republicans stood with “We the People” and voted “No.”
Reps. Banks (Indiana) and Boebert (Colorado) did not vote on the debt ceiling bill.
However, only 46 Democrats voted against the law, while 169 supported it. Two Dems did not vote on the bill.
Here are the 149 Republicans Who Voted with Democrats in Passing the Uniparty Bill
According to four Democratic lawmakers who spoke to Axios, they had been informed about a deal that involved earmarks or “community project funding” in exchange for Democratic votes to advance the bill.
However, both McCarthy and Jeffries, through their respective spokespersons, denied the existence of any such agreement.
McCarthy told a CNN reporter that he didn’t need to make any deals with Hakeem Jeffries in order to win Democratic votes for the debt ceiling bill.
As the conflicting statements continue to circulate, it remains unclear whether there was indeed an agreement between McCarthy, Jeffries, and Democratic lawmakers to secure the necessary votes for the debt ceiling bill.
In response to the alleged deal between McCarthy and Jeffries, Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC) tweeted, “Shot and chaser.”
Shot and chaser. pic.twitter.com/JYndqQbJ4U
— Rep. Dan Bishop (@RepDanBishop) June 1, 2023
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) also reacted to the news: “Earmarks! Sell! Sell! Sell! #NoDeal[.]”
Earmarks! Sell! Sell! Sell! #NoDeal https://t.co/SRrIzDAPKy
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) May 31, 2023
