Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., told Newsmax that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was looking to get a debt ceiling agreement done, but perhaps not the "best deal."
Appearing Thursday on "Rob Schmitt Tonight," the congressman said House Republican leadership left several leverage pieces on the table to close a deal with the Biden administration as soon as possible.
"I think that Speaker McCarthy and his team ... negotiated in good faith. But I also think they went to get a deal done, as opposed to getting the best deal done," Donalds said. "And those are two different dynamics, and it means there were leverage pieces that were left on the battlefield."
Donalds also responded to suggestions from some Freedom Caucus members that they would float a motion to vacate McCarthy from his role as speaker — something he appeared skeptical of.
"There are members who are talking about it, but right now, it's just not really clear what that strategy looks like," the congressman explained. "That's a whole different legislative maneuver that, at the end of the day, it requires votes to accomplish."
"I don't think that's actually going to occur," he continued. "But again, the way we changed the rules back to the original House rules was that any member can bring that motion."
His comments arrive in the backdrop of the House passing the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 on Wednesday, capping non-defense discretionary spending at around 1% and raising defense spending by 3% in Fiscal Year 2024.
The deal also suspends the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling until Jan. 1, 2025, and shifts $10 billion of the Internal Revenue Service's newly allotted $80 billion away from the agency for the next two calendar years.
Republicans also maneuvered minor victories, including reforms to how oil and gas leases are permitted and the ability to split annual appropriations into 12 separate bills or pass a flat continuing resolution.
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