Senate Republicans Move to Hobble McCarthy Ahead of Leadership Vote

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy just lost a key piece of negotiating leverage for the incoming Republican House. A bipartisan group of Congressional appropriators released a framework for a government funding agreement that will run until the end of 2023, meaning that Mr. McCarthy won’t be able to hold funding hostage in negotiations with the Biden White House.Senators Leahy and Shelby, who sit atop the powerful Appropriations Committee for their respective parties, announced that they have found a “bipartisan, bicameral” framework, though they did not disclose specific numbers. Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, Chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee, said in a statement that she and her Senate colleagues will work “around the clock” to hammer out the final details. Mr. McCarthy and conservatives in Congress have denounced the deal, claiming that Senate Republicans are undermining the GOP’s ability to put pressure on the Biden administration and extract spending concessions. “Republicans will soon be in the majority and in the driver’s seat to fight for our priorities,” Mr. McCarthy said in a tweet, adding that “every Republican should vote NO on Democrats’ lame-duck omnibus bill.”Senator Cramer, a member of the Appropriations Committee, told Semafor that senate Republicans “should relieve [Mr. McCarthy]” of the negotiating “burden.”Mr. McCarthy’s potential speakership is already facing challenges. With only a four-seat majority, he can afford to lose only a few members during the leadership vote on January 3rd. Three weeks out, he still has not secured the requisite number of votes.Conservatives in the House have made a number of demands in exchange for their votes. One demand is that Mr. McCarthy aggressively use government funding negotiations to advance their priorities, including entitlement reforms such as raising the age of eligibility for social security and reducing benefits for higher-income earners. Congressman Chip Roy, a member of the right-wing Freedom Caucus who has yet to commit to voting for McCarthy, said that senate Republicans are trying to “jam through” a funding bill rather than wait for the new GOP House majority. Mr. Roy said that senators are “sticking their middle finger up at” their own voters by negotiating a backroom deal. Now, with the funding framework announced, Mr. McCarthy has lost a tool to pressure the President and woo his own members. Messrs. Leahy and Shelby are both retiring next month, and combined have more than eight decades of experience in the Senate. As two octogenarians move on from their lives in public service, they have prevented the possibility of a government shutdown for Fiscal Year 2023. Opposition parties in Congress have long used the threat of government shutdowns to extract policy concessions from presidents. In 2011, the newly-minted House majority used their 2010 election mandate to demand spending cuts from President Obama. The new Tea Party members demanded a more aggressive approach in negotiations between Speaker Boehner and the president. In 2013, members of Congress, led by Senator Cruz, refused to accept any funding deal that did not include defunding the Affordable Care Act. The United States suffered its longest government shutdown in late 2018 and early 2019, when Democrats refused to fund the government if the legislation included funding for a border wall. President Trump eventually relented and signed a funding bill with no border wall money. The House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, Senator Schumer, and Senator McConnell all praised the work of their appropriators. Mr. McCarthy was the only one of the top four congressional leaders to not be a part of this deal, and has been diminished as a result.“Why would you ever move forward when there’s a change in power in 21 days where Republicans would have a stronger hand?” Mr. McCarthy said.

Senate Republicans Move to Hobble McCarthy Ahead of Leadership Vote

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