(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) As the White House and House Republicans reach a deal over the months-long debate on raising the debt ceiling, Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., remained tight-lipped on his party’s support for such an agreement, which could be deemed as a victory for the GOP and Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
“I do expect that there will be Democratic support, once we have the ability to actually be fully briefed by the White House,” Jeffries said in a Sunday interview with CBS’s Margaret Brennan. “But I’m not going to predict what those numbers may ultimately look like.”
Echoing McCarthy’s warning that there was still a lot of work to be done, Jeffries said, “We have to go through a process consistent with respecting every single member of the House of Representatives and their ability to fully understand the resolution that has been raised.”
While negotiations between McCarthy and President Joe Biden have been ongoing, Jeffries’s refusal to disclose his party’s support for the bill left many wondering whether his silence is a political plan aimed at avoiding potential backlash from the far-left wing of the Democratic Party.
“Time to play smart,” Fox News host Laura Ingraham said on Sunday via Twitter. “Jeffries will cast as many votes against Biden and the deal as he’s allowed to get away with. McCarthy should play hardball here and demand that the White House deliver the votes to get this passed.”
Jeffries took to Twitter to thank Biden for reaching an agreement with House Republicans but also remained silent on whether his caucus would support the bill. “Thankful that President Biden has reached an agreement in principle to prevent a devastating GOP-manufactured default,” Jeffries said.
Thankful that President Biden has reached an agreement in principle to prevent a devastating GOP-manufactured default.
Look forward to reviewing the legislative bill text once it is released this afternoon.
And continuing our work to put people over politics.
— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) May 28, 2023
Several Republicans had expressed frustration over Jeffries’s unwillingness to compromise, with Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., calling some of the Democratic demands “radical.”
McCarthy announced the deal on Saturday evening but warned that House Republicans will have 72 hours to review the bill before voting on it. The text of the bill was released on Sunday evening and members of Congress are expected to vote on the agreement on Wednesday.
Responding to conservative backlash, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., partially credited McCarthy over the debt ceiling debate. “The debt ceiling fight has never been our only chance. This is a game of inches and we have the momentum,” Greene said on a Sunday tweet. “The bill text is not even out yet, let’s wait to read the bill.”
