Though they’re loud, the far-right agenda in the U.S. House is still mostly losing.
In a Wednesday vote on a plan to raise the nation’s debt ceiling so the government can legally accommodate previously established expenses, a full 314 House members — who together comprised a thoroughly bipartisan group — voted down the side represented by Republicans like Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Paul Gosar. The opposition from these very often incendiary figures could have thrown the national and global economies into chaos if it won out, as many critical costs depend on the legal mechanism known as the debt limit being at the level needed to accommodate the financial demands.
Other Republicans who also voted against moving forward with the debt limit plan — and, by extension, for an approach that could have resulted in economic catastrophe — included Andy Biggs, Ken Buck, Tim Burchett, Kat Cammack, Eli Crane, Byron Donalds, Victoria Spartz, and even George Santos! A smaller number of Democrats also voted against the initiative, though the background for those votes is different. It’s the Republicans who wanted to do things this way, meaning with a more sweeping legislative package as opposed to a “clean” bill just raising the debt ceiling. In the end, more Democrats than Republicans actually voted for the bill, keeping it moving. (A Senate vote would follow.)
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) also opposed the underlying deal, but she didn’t participate in the vote, just missing the proceedings. Republican complaints about the contents of the deal McCarthy arranged have included that it didn’t go far enough in undoing plans to boost funding for the IRS, which the Republican idea has been could be used to target everyday Americans.
