McCarthy faces GOP fury over Biden debt deal as Senate races to vote on it — live

Here’s what Newsmax host Eric Bolling had to say about the debt deal, via Mediaite:

Speaking before the final vote on The Balance, Bolling shredded the particulars and particularly shredded McCarthy for giving the win to the Democrats.

“Joe Biden must be so happy right now,” Bolling said. “He doesn’t have to deal with his massive deficit issues until after the 2024 election. How convenient. And for that, you can thank none other than House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.”

Bolling said that it could have been a big issue for Republicans to revisit in the campaign, but “Sleepy Joe didn’t want that, and Kevin McCarthy may have handed Joe Biden a second term in this deal.”

CNN’s Manu Raju reports:

Leaving lunch, Sens. Rick Scott and Mitt Romney told me that senators are looking to finish up the debt limit vote tonight. Meaning amendment votes (which will fail) and final passage. They still need an agreement of all 100 senators, but the goal is to get a final vote tonight.

The Senate will be in a race against the clock to pass the bipartisan debt limit legislation that the House of Representatives passed on Wednesday evening before the United States hits the date when it will default on its debt.

Eric Garcia explains what has to be done.

Eric Garcia explains who is unhappy.

Senate Armed Services Ranking Member Roger Wicker from the Senate floor, commenting on the House-passed debt limit bill and future defence spending, says: “This Biden budget, which is now enshrined in this debt ceiling bill, is woefully inadequate. It amounts to a cut in defence capability.”

He adds: “The fact that this is being called a victory by some people on our side of the aisle is absolutely inaccurate..Now for some reason that it’s part of an agreement that the Speaker has made, it’s being applauded. The numbers don’t lie.”

Senator Tom Cotton adds: “This bill poses a mortal risk to our national security by cutting our defence budget which I cannot support as grave dangers gather on the horizon.”

He continues: “A Congress with a Republican House and a Democratic Senate has now produced a defence budget worse in real terms than either defence budget produced by a unified Democratic Congress. I cannot vote for that curious result.”

“And if it takes a short-term increase in the debt ceiling to go back to the drawing board, so be it.”

Senator Lindsey Graham also voiced his opposition to the level of defence spending: “To my House colleagues, I can’t believe you did this. To the Speaker, I know you have a tough job. I like you. I know you have a tough job, but the party of Ronald Reagan is dying.”

He adds: “To the members of this body, we’re staying here as long as it takes to get some commitment that we’re going reverse this debacle sooner rather than later.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell speaking about the House-passed bill says: “Last night, an overwhelming majority of our House colleagues voted to pass the agreement Speaker McCarthy reached with President Biden. In doing so, they took an urgent and important step in the right direction.”

He continues: “The Fiscal Responsibility Act avoids the catastrophic consequences of a default on our nation’s debt. And just as importantly, it makes the most serious headway in years toward curbing Washington Democrats’ reckless spending addiction.”

Mr McConnell reiterates his support for the bill: “The bill the House just passed has the potential to cut federal spending by $1.5 trillion dollars. Now, the Senate has the chance to make that important progress a reality.”

He adds: “The deal the House passed last night is a promising step toward fiscal sanity. But make no mistake: there is much more work to be done. The fight to reel in wasteful government spending is far from over.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says: “I thank my House colleagues on both sides of the aisle who fulfilled their duty to prevent a catastrophic default. We need that same spirit of bipartisanship that governed the House vote to continue here in the Senate this morning.”

He opposes passage of any amendments to the House-passed debt limit bill: “And any change to this bill that forces us to send it back to the House would be entirely unacceptable. It would almost guarantee default.”

“The Senate will stay in session until we send a bill avoiding default to President Biden’s desk. We will keep working until the job is done. Time is a luxury the Senate does not have if we want to prevent default.”