NRD Editor’s Note: The following story is a must read from Politico:
By Jonathan Allen and Jake Sherman – House Speaker John Boehner could face a revolt if he follows Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s lead in trying to give the president the power to lift the debt ceiling.
House Republicans spit on McConnell’s proposal Thursday, even as Boehner refused to dismiss the idea.
“I would say, ‘No way,’” said Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, whose members constitute roughly three-quarters of the House GOP.
“Everybody I’ve talked to over here says, ‘No way,’” said Florida Rep. Tom Rooney, a member of the vote-counting whip team.
But earlier in the day, Boehner declined to pronounce the death of McConnell’s plan, which has gained some traction in the Senate and is being held in reserve as a last-resort option to avoid an economic disaster. Rather than getting a vote as is, the plan will more likely move forward in another form or alongside appetizing additives intended to help Republicans in both chambers digest the debt hike and a cession of power to the president.
“Mitch described his proposal as a last-ditch effort in case we’re unable to do anything else,” Boehner told reporters Thursday. “And what may look like something less than optimal today, if we are unable to reach an agreement, might look pretty good a couple of weeks from now. I think it’s worth keeping on the table. There are a lot of options that people have floated. And frankly, I think it’s an option that may be worthy at some point.”
Boehner said he has “no idea” whether McConnell’s plan will pass his chamber. Several GOP lawmakers said privately that it stands no chance.
The tensions within the Republican Conference underscore the lingering hesitation to hiking the debt ceiling, even as an increasing number of Republicans hope a deal gets done by the Treasury Department’s Aug. 2 deadline.
House Republicans expect to voice many options Friday, when the conference will gather for a rare second closed session in one week. The meeting, in the Capitol basement at 8 a.m., will feature a presentation from Jerome Powell, a visiting scholar at the Bipartisan Policy Center who was a Treasury official under former President George H.W. Bush. Powell gave a presentation to the Republican deputy whip team Wednesday about what the world would look like after Aug. 2 if the nation doesn’t raise the debt limit. GOP aides said it was an informational presentation that was not meant to persuade members how to vote on the legislation or what opinion to hold.
With the Aug. 2 deadline rapidly approaching, Republicans expect to spend the second meeting telling their leaders what they’d like to see pass alongside the debt-limit hike.
A plan to cut spending, put caps on future expenditures and pass a constitutional amendment to balance the budget is certain to come up, lawmakers said. Also on the unofficial agenda of lawmakers are several bills to force the president to prioritize payments if Congress doesn’t raise the debt ceiling.
In fact, the Cut, Cap and Balance Act is one that’s gaining steam on Capitol Hill. McConnell, who has become the subject of ire from the right in recent days, expressed support for the plan Thursday. His support could increase the likelihood that his legislation is coupled with the cut, cap and balance idea — or something like it — to attract enough support to avert an early-August catastrophe. GOP lawmakers hoped their leadership would put pressure on the president to bring along Democrats to pass their balanced-budget amendment. In its current form, most Democrats say they won’t vote for the legislation because it sets a supermajority threshold to raise taxes.
Boehner is hearing from his troops privately, too. Reps. Jordan, Jason Chaffetz of Utah and Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina pressed the case for the cut, cap and balance plan in a private meeting Wednesday that one source described as a bit contentious. Jordan said afterward that he “was encouraged” even though Boehner “didn’t make any commitments.”
In fact, the plan that’s the subject of the most ire is McConnell’s proposal, which Boehner refused to rule out. The reactions of more than a dozen rank-and-file Republicans suggest Boehner would have a revolt on his hands if he brings it to the floor in anything resembling its current form. A few lawmakers said that they might give it a second look if it is part of a larger package of spending cuts and budget controls, but others said that won’t do the trick for them.
Some are holding their fire. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers, a Kentucky appropriator like McConnell, said he has not had a chance to “to study it and reflect on it.”
“But at least it’s a stab at trying to find some way out of this,” Rogers told POLITICO in an interview Thursday. “McConnell, obviously, is shrewd, … smart [and] experienced. He’s created a conversation, at least. We’ll see how it goes. I don’t want to condemn it out of hand, because it possibly could work.”
Michigan Rep. Bill Huizenga said he doesn’t think it was the right direction, but “I give McConnell credit in that he’s thinking outside the normal paradigm, and we’ve got to start coloring outside the box.”
Others are less patient.
“What McConnell plan?” asked Rep. Tim Scott, the freshman Republican from South Carolina on the Elected Leadership Committee. “There’s not a plan. When you’re in the minority, you can say all kinds of interesting things. At the end of the day, anyone in the House who is in the majority would be irresponsible to take any position where we abdicate our responsibilities to the president: period.”
Florida Rep. Allen West, whose conservative credo on Capitol Hill brought more than $1 million to his campaign account in the second quarter of this year, put it more simply.
“Down South, we put it very simply: ‘That dog don’t hunt,’” West said, adding that if he were in negotiations with the president, he would be “a different kind of animal in there” than his leaders.
Rooney, who is close to Boehner, said he believes the country will face a disaster if the debt ceiling isn’t raised soon but that he’s not interested in giving away congressional power to the president — calling it a responsibility of lawmakers to maintain their role in the process.
“There’s a separation-of-powers issue,” said Rooney, who was a leading opponent of President Barack Obama’s decision to circumvent the War Powers Act in launching and continuing hostilities in Libya.
The constitutional concerns with the legislation are sprouting up around the conference.
“As a constitutionalist, I really think that this power should vest with the Legislative Branch,” said Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, a freshman Republican from Tennessee. “Anytime we begin to delegate, for political convenience, to the Executive Branch, I see an inherent problem with that.”
Some have a softer stance. Asked about the McConnell plan, Rep. Dennis Ross (R-Fla.), who often votes in line with the majority of Republican freshmen, said, “It’s not a starter.”
But pushed on whether he might agree to McConnell’s legislation if it is paired with deep spending cuts and a balanced-budget amendment, he gave a little ground.
“Then I think we’re moving in the right direction,” Ross said.
Marin Cogan contributed to this report.
