Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., said he sees "no serious threat" to the speakership of Kevin McCarthy's, R-Calif., in a potential bipartisan debt ceiling deal.
Gaetz's remarks, made Thursday on a Twitter Spaces livestream, were tweeted by Will Steakin of ABC News even as House Republicans and President Joe Biden rushed to avoid a default.
Gaetz said he believes a bipartisan deal would be approved by "about 80-100 Democrat votes and between 140-160 Republican votes."
He added: "It will rocket through the Senate after it passes the House. ... I think there is no serious threat to McCarthy's speakership."
The Hill noted that Gaetz had been one of the most vocal opponents to electing McCarthy as speaker.
The Hill also noted that congressional conservatives have maintained they will oppose any deal on the debt ceiling that includes key concessions to Biden.
The White House and congressional Republicans on Friday were aiming to put the final touches on a deal to raise the U.S. government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling for two years while capping spending on everything but military and veterans, according to a U.S. official, Reuters reported.
Negotiators for Biden and McCarthy appeared to be nearing a deal as the two sides reached agreement on key issues, such as spending caps and funding for the Internal Revenue Service and the military.
However, items including work requirements for recipients of federal aid were still holding up the deal, the official said.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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