Speaker Kevin McCarthy reversed course Wednesday and agreed to change the GOP’s debt limit legislation after failing to unite House Republicans behind the original proposal.
Mr. McCarthy’s allies moved to amend the 320-page bill during a late-night meeting of the House Rules Committee. The legislation raises the debt ceiling until May 2024 in exchange for slashing $4.8 trillion from federal spending by phasing in work requirements for social welfare programs and clawing back President Biden’s green energy tax credits.
“This is a balancing act,” said a senior GOP aide. “We said no amendments, no negotiating until it became obvious we had to make changes. This is a four-seat majority.”
The last-minute amendments to the bill expedite the onset of work requirements, while abandoning the effort to repeal all $200 billion of the tax credits.
Mr. McCarthy initially refused to accept amendments to the legislation because of time constraints. The speaker’s allies said the bill needed to pass before lawmakers left Washington at the end of April if Republicans had any hopes of starting negotiations with Mr. Biden.
“We’re done negotiating, and we’re going to get this bill through,” House Republican Conference Vice Chairman Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, said Tuesday. “I think we’re close. No changes.”
That position proved unsustainable in the face of internal GOP divisions.
Reps. Matt Gaetz, Florida Republican, said he would vote against the bill unless work requirements were expanded from 20 hours to 30 hours per week. Mr. Gaetz and Rep. George Santos, New York Republican, also wanted the requirements to kick in next year rather than 2025 as initially provided for within the bill.
Their stance on work requirements was backed by a majority of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus.
Mr. McCarthy acquiesced to the demands partially, agreeing to have work requirements begin earlier. The broader push to expand work requirements to 30 hours per week was rejected amid opposition from moderate Republicans representing districts that Mr. Biden won in 2020.
Apart from work requirements, Republicans were also divided on repealing the green energy tax credits that Democrats passed last year as part of Mr. Biden’s $739 billion climate law.
Republicans from the Midwest, in particular, were conflicted about gutting the credits for ethanol, as they benefit farmers.
Mr. McCarthy agreed to keep some of the green energy and biofuel subsidies in place, including for companies that already had locked-in projects.
“We’re gonna pass the bill on the floor,” said Mr. McCarthy.
The path forward still looks difficult. Mr. McCarthy can lose only four Republicans on any single House vote before having to rely on Democrats.
At the moment, at least two Republicans are publicly opposed, while nearly 10 others are on the fence.
Rep. Tim Burchett, Tennessee Republican, said he was “definitely a no” on the bill. Mr. Burchett said he is opposed to raising the debt ceiling on principle.
Meanwhile, GOP Reps. Nancy Mace and Andy Biggs said they were “leaning no,” although for different reasons.
Ms. Mace, South Carolina Republican, was opposed to repealing the green energy tax credits and wished the bill balanced the budget sooner. Mr. Biggs, Arizona Republican, said he did not think the cuts were sufficient to curtail the $31 trillion national debt.
Despite the uncertainty, GOP leaders are pushing forward with a vote on the bill this week.
The move is a crucial test of Mr. McCarthy’s ability to keep Republicans in line for a showdown with Mr. Biden on spending, with the government facing a default deadline in early summer for exceeding its borrowing limit of $31 trillion.
The White House said Mr. Biden would veto the measure if it reaches his desk, calling it a “ransom note” from House Republicans that would slash a wide array of services for Americans.
“Americans won’t forget House Republicans’ celebration of slashing fundamental programs that our families, seniors and veterans count on every day,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
