Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., admitted Sunday that he is “anything short of a clear vote” on the debt ceiling deal, calling the legislative process used to secure the deal “a ransom note and a hostage-taking process”.
“Is this really the way we want to do business as a country in the future? This is not how we’re supposed to pass legislation in Congress,” Himes said during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday.”
“So I’m hoping that we’ll, you know, get through this and then we’ll dispense with the catastrophe and the bailouts and the hostage-taking and the, you know, the really debilitating qualities of this debt ceiling to re-legislate as we they were designed to legislate,” he added.
Himes said the debt ceiling bill, which was reached on Saturday evening, does not include Democratic priorities. He said the bill may prove to have “traction” among some Democrats given its size, or lack thereof, compared to what the GOP initially wanted.
“The obvious point here, and the speaker didn’t say this, the reason it may have some traction with some Democrats is that it’s a very small bill. It’s a very, very small bill,” Himes said .
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“Now, you know, if the bill was anything like what the Republicans passed on the floor, where they rescinded all the money designed to create an electric battery industry in this country designed to further reduce drug prices , you would have been unanimously against it,” Himes continued.
Democratic Rep. Jim Himes admitted it is “anything short of a clear vote” on the debt ceiling deal, calling the legislative process used to secure the deal “a bailout and a process of hostage taking”. (Fox News)
President Biden issued a statement shortly after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., announced that a deal had been reached, and the president strongly urged both chambers to pass the deal immediately.” .approve the deal, it is still pending whether he will vote yes in the final vote.
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“Well, remember, every day I wake up knowing enough history to know that my job is not to do what the president tells me to do. In fact, you know, and in a divided government, I view my role as a check. and balance of the president very, very seriously,” Himes said.
Himes said the debt ceiling bill, which was reached on Saturday evening, does not include Democratic priorities. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“I haven’t made up my mind. The whole company is a corrupt company in terms of legislating this way,” Himes continued “And I’ll hear what the arguments are from the president and his people. But no, I’m anything minus a clear affirmative vote at this point.”
Himes said he will participate in a 5pm call today with the Democratic Caucus following McCarthy’s announcement on Saturday.
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An agreement in principle was reached between the White House and House Republican leaders that would prevent the government from breaching the debt ceiling and defaulting on all of its obligations.
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy speaks to members of the media after arriving at the U.S. Capitol on May 26, 2023. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
The deal would bring back some unspent COVID-19 pandemic funds and provide a cut in funding given to the IRS in the Biden Inflation Reduction Act, multiple sources told Fox News and Fox News Digital. It would also suspend the debt limit until after the 2024 presidential election, sources said.
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McCarthy said Saturday that the deal includes cuts and language aimed at reducing the government’s footprint. The text of the bill is expected to be released on Sunday with a vote in the House on Wednesday.
Fox News’ Chad Pergram, Liz Elkind, Adam Sabes, Brooke Singman and Jacqui Heinrich contributed to this report.
