--- title: Biden-McCarthy Debt Ceiling Deal Faces Several Hurdles description: The first obstacle comes on Tuesday evening, when the House Rules Committee will convene to determine whether the agreement comes to a vote. canonical: https://time.com/6283525/debt-ceiling-deal-challenges-biden-mccarthy/ author: Nik Popli article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2023-05-30T19:20:23.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-11T20:06:11.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Biden-McCarthy Debt Deal Faces Hurdles og:description: The first obstacle comes on Tuesday evening, when the House Rules Committee will convene to determine whether the agreement comes to a vote. og:url: https://time.com/6283525/debt-ceiling-deal-challenges-biden-mccarthy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7da441701f521ce6/698a3d7216d8844982c3be5c/Dan-Bishop-McCarthy-Debt.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 6000 og:image:height: 3375 og:image:alt: Debt Limit Bill Moves To House Rules Committee og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Biden-McCarthy Debt Deal Faces Hurdles twitter:description: The first obstacle comes on Tuesday evening, when the House Rules Committee will convene to determine whether the agreement comes to a vote. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7da441701f521ce6/698a3d7216d8844982c3be5c/Dan-Bishop-McCarthy-Debt.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A Few Lawmakers Are Trying to Torpedo the Debt Ceiling Deal. Here’s How > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ## Video: What to Know About the History of the Debt Ceiling [Watch (HLS stream): What to Know About the History of the Debt Ceiling](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/sJUEUsSN.m3u8) (2:57)  _Published 2023-05-26. The Biden Administration remains locked in a standoff with congressional Republicans over raising the federal debt ceiling, just two weeks before the nation is set to default on its obligations for the first time. The U.S. government hit its congressionally imposed $31.4 trillion borrowing limit in January, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that the country could run out of cash as early as June 1 if Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are unable to reach a deal to raise the debt ceiling._  by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/)  ## Nik Popli Staff Writer Updated: Dec 11, 2023 8:06 PM UTCPublished: May 30, 2023 7:20 PM UTC  Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC) is joined by 10 other members of the Freedom Caucus to announce they would oppose the deal to raise the debt limit during a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol on May 30, 2023 in Washington, DC. Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC) is joined by 10 other members of the Freedom Caucus to announce they would oppose the deal to raise the debt limit during a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol on May 30, 2023 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla–Getty Images  by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/)  ## Nik Popli Staff Writer Updated: Dec 11, 2023 8:06 PM UTCPublished: May 30, 2023 7:20 PM UTC With just days to spare until a government default, lawmakers in Washington are facing intense pressure this week to support the passage of a [bipartisan debt ceiling bill](https://time.com/6283225/debt-ceiling-deal/) that key members of both parties oppose. The bill overcame its first major hurdle late Tuesday, when Republicans on the House Rules Committee narrowly voted 7-6 to approve the legislation and send it to the full House of Representatives for a vote expected Wednesday night. Two of the committee’s nine GOP members—Reps. Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Chip Roy of Texas—broke with their party to oppose sending the bill to the House floor. There it faces more than two dozen ultraconservative Republicans who have threatened to block the deal between Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden. “This deal fails, fails completely, and that’s why these members and others will be absolutely opposed to the deal,” said Rep. Scott Perry, a Pennsylvania Republican and the chairman of the Freedom Caucus, outside the Capitol on Tuesday. “We will do everything in our power to stop it.” --- ### More from TIME --- The compromise bill, which Biden and McCarthy reached over the weekend, is far from the “clean” debt ceiling increase Democrats had initially sought, but it also leaves out many of the provisions that Republicans pushed for in their House-passed debt ceiling bill. Some far-right conservatives have argued that the agreement does not do enough to cut future deficits, while progressive Democrats have expressed frustration over the inclusion of work requirements and spending caps that White House negotiators originally rejected—prompting leaders on both sides to wage an all-out sales pitch to rally key lawmakers behind the compromise. “I feel very good about it,” Biden told reporters on Monday. “There is no reason it shouldn’t get done” in time to avoid default, he added. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that the government could run out of cash to pay its bills on time by June 5 unless Congress acts. Complicating matters is that McCarthy made a series of procedural concessions to conservatives during his marathon, 15-round bid to become speaker in January, including a promise to only advance legislation out of the rules committee if all nine Republicans backed it, Norman said at a news conference on Tuesday. “The whole bill is a violation,” he said. “That’s not what we agreed to.” McCarthy also agreed as part of his speakership concessions to restore the ability of any one member to force a House vote to overthrow the Speaker—a move that Republicans have so far not publicly threatened, but continues to hang in the balance. Rep. Dan Bishop of North Carolina, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, told reporters on Tuesday that a motion to vacate is “on the table” and that he will decide “in conjunction with others” about how to proceed. “No one in the Republican party could have done a worse job,” he said of McCarthy on Tuesday. “This is a career defining vote for every Republican.” Rep. Scott Perry of Florida, chairman of the Freedom Caucus, echoed that sentiment, arguing that McCarthy “totally failed to deliver” on holding the line during debt limit talks. How the House ultimately votes on the bill will reveal the extent of McCarthy’s political power. He can lose no more than four Republican votes on the floor before needing Democratic support to pass the legislation, and doing so could damage his standing among conservatives. Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” McCarthy predicted that he would have all the necessary GOP votes and downplayed concerns that far-right members of his conference would move to vacate him as speaker. “Well, that’s okay, because more than 95% of all those in the conference were very excited,” McCarthy said. “There’s not one thing in the bill for Democrats.” He said that he expects a vote in the House on Wednesday, in hopes of enacting the legislation before a looming deadline to avert a default in less than a week. If the proposed bill does clear the House, it will then move for a vote in the Democratic-controlled Senate, where it could face yet another obstacle: amendments. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican, said on Twitter that he would seek an amendment to renegotiate military funding levels, calling for a short-term debt limit extension of 90 days. Under the current framework, the deal boosts spending for the military next year by about 3% and also increases funding to improve medical care for military veterans, including a $20.3 billion fund dedicated to veterans who have been exposed to toxic substances or environmental hazards. Meanwhile, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, said he would push for an amendment to remove a provision in the bill to expedite federal permits for the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a controversial 303-mile natural-gas pipeline between West Virginia and Virginia that has been repeatedly stalled on environmental concerns. The pipeline has been a key goal of Republicans and a plan championed by Sen. Joe Manchin, a centrist Democrat from West Virginia, who has said that finishing the pipeline would lower energy costs for his state. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York has warned that the bill would need to be voted on by the weekend in order to get the legislation passed in time. ## Transcript Condiments are warning that the US is on the precipice of economic Calamity. If the government can't come together and raise the federal debt limit, now, this isn't the first time, the US has been in this situation. We've been here before and the debt-limit crisis has always been resolved by Congress, but this year's B is turning out to be a lot more messy than previous years. And since this debt ceiling is one of the few must pass pieces of legislation. Both parties have to use this issue as an opportunity to take a political stand and exact concessions to cut back on government spending, it would cause the government to default on its legal obligations for the first time in history, creating a financial crisis and threatening jobs for everyday Americans. It could even potentially put the US get risk of a recession. The only country that has a debt ceiling is Denmark the debt limit or the debt. Ceiling is a cap on the total amount of money that the federal government is authorized to borrow to fulfill its Financial Obligations. Everything at the government spends, money on military to Social Security, and Veterans Benefits has to be funded, either through tax revenue, or debt. And for the last two decades, the US has been running a budget deficit. Adding 25 trillion dollars in debt. So the treasury Department now says that the government could be unable to issue new debt and pay its bills as early as June 1st. But Congress has always acted when called upon to raise. The debt limit has 1960 Congress. Acted 78 separate times to permanently raise temporarily extend a revised the debt limit. The debt ceiling has become an increasingly political issue in recent years, especially when power in Washington is divided as it is right now, Republicans control the house and Democrats control the presidency in the Senate. Democrats have been very United on this front. I have insisted from the beginning that they won't accept any concessions attached to a deal and continue to blame Republicans for taking the country's credit hostage in our stash. Continue to me as we speak is not a fact and they're making progress I made clear time and again to falling on a national debt is not an option but that no negotiation strategy, may be impractical with the June 1st deadline approaching in less than two weeks. The number of places that we are still far apart. I mean, it didn't seem like the economy, plays a pivotal role in how Americans cast their ballots. So, the outcome of these debt limit discussions, could shape. What happens in 2024, particularly if Biden was unable to raise the debt limit before defaulting, or if he accepts concessions that undo, his legislative accomplishment, for instance, progresses. My see him as weak. If he accepts, the GOP is proposed, work requirements for federal aid. This is a very big moment for Joe Biden. And as my colleague, Phil Elliott, remarkably little of it is under his sole control. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6283525/debt-ceiling-deal-challenges-biden-mccarthy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6283525/debt-ceiling-deal-challenges-biden-mccarthy/"},"headline":"A Few Lawmakers Are Trying to Torpedo the Debt Ceiling Deal. 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