House Republicans narrowly passed sweeping legislation on Wednesday that would raise the government’s statutory debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion in exchange for hefty spending cuts, a tactical victory for Speaker Kevin McCarthy as he challenges President

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Biden to negotiate this summer and avoid a catastrophic federal bankruptcy.

Biden has threatened to veto the Republican package, which in the meantime has almost no chance of passing the Democratic Senate, and the president has so far refused to negotiate the debt ceiling, which the White House says will be without conditions must be lifted to ensure America pays its bills.

But McCarthy’s ability to quickly unify his slim majority and push the measure over opposition from Democrats and even holdouts in his own party lends currency to Republican speakers’ strategy of using the vote as an opening bid to win Biden. force conversations. The two men couldn’t be further apart on how to solve the problem.

The bill passed by a razor-thin margin of 217-215.

We did our job,” McCarthy said after the vote.

“The president can no longer ignore the issue by not negotiating with House Republicans,” he said.

Column: The GOP’s debt ceiling proposal bundles every bad policy idea into one damaging package

As the House debated the measure, Biden signaled Wednesday that he was willing to open the door for talks with McCarthy, but not for an initial

-ever

US bankruptcy that would shake the US economy and beyond.

Happy to meet McCarthy, but not on whether or not to extend the debt limit, Biden said. That is not negotiable.

The passage of the sprawling 320-page package in the House is just the beginning of what is expected to be a weeks-long political slog as the president and congress try to work out a compromise that will lower the national debt, now $31 trillion. can be paid off. lifted to allow further borrowing and avoid a fiscal crisis.

The nation has never defaulted on its debts, and the House Republican majority hopes to corner Biden with its plan to, among other things, cut federal spending to 2022 fiscal levels and limit future spending increases to 1 % in the next decade.

McCarthy worked nonstop to unite his troublesome Republican majority, the Five Families, including the conservative Freedom Caucus and others who made changes to the House Rules Committee after midnight in an effort to win over holdouts.

Facing an uprising from Midwestern Republicans over eliminating biofuel tax credits that were only signed into law last year by

Democrat

Biden, GOP House members relented and let the tax credits stay in their bill.

Our delegation has united on behalf of Iowa’s farmers and producers who are fighting to amend the bill to protect biofuel tax credits,” the four Iowa House Republicans said in a joint statement announcing their support for the bill.

Republicans also agreed to launch enhanced job requirements for state aid recipients more quickly, starting in 2024, as proposed by another holdout, Freedom Caucus’ Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who has led McCarthy’s past challenges.

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The Republicans have a five-seat majority in the House and were absent several times this week, leaving McCarthy nearly out of votes. In the end, the speaker lost four Republican no votes and all Democrats were against.

This bill is unacceptable, it is unreasonable, it is unworkable, it is unscrupulous and it is un-American, said New York Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries. That is why we are against it.

Democrats derided the Republican plan as a ransom note, “a shakedown, and “an unserious bill” bent on financial jeopardy.

But as McCarthy worked to bolster support, some of the most conservative Republican rank and file who have never voted to raise the debt ceiling in their quest to cut spending said they were preparing to do just that. , rallying behind the speaker’s strategy. to push Biden to the negotiating table.

Rep. Ralph Norman (RS.C.), a member of the Freedom Caucus, said he wanted double the deficit savings in the bill but would vote for it because it starts the ball it puts us in the arena to raise the debt solve problem.

It is a first major test for the president and Republican speaker, coming at a time of heightened political concern over Washington’s ability to solve major problems amid the need to raise the federal debt limit in weeks.

The Treasury Department is taking extraordinary measures to pay the bills, but funding is expected to run out this summer. Economists warn that even the serious threat of federal debt would send shockwaves through the economy.

In exchange for a $1.5 trillion increase in the debt limit by 2024, the bill would reverse total federal spending and:

Reclaim unused COVID-19 funds. Establish stricter job requirements for recipients of food stamps and other government aid. Halt Biden’s plans to forgive up to $20,000 in student loans. End many of the historic renewable energy tax breaks that Biden signed into law last year. It would tackle a sweeping Republican bill to boost oil, gas and coal production.

An impartial analysis by the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the Republican plan would reduce federal deficits by $4.8 trillion over the decade if the proposed changes were passed into law.

Calmes: What did Kevin McCarthy do?

Several Republicans on the party’s right wing, desirous of even tighter cuts, said the bill was at least a starting point as they prepared to vote for McCarthy’s strategy and strengthen his hand in talks with Biden.

Freshman Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) Said: It is our duty to bring Speaker McCarthy to the table.

Others, however, remained noncommittal or outright no.

Representative Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), the former chairman of the Freedom Caucus, said he would have liked Republicans to do more to end deficit spending. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) said about the country’s nearly $32 trillion in debt, that’s my biggest concern.

In the Senate, leaders watched and waited.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) said that passing the legislation through the House would be a wasted effort and that McCarthy should come to the table with Democrats to pass a simple debt reduction bill without GOP to approve priorities and prevent non-payment.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who stepped aside to put McCarthy in charge, said the speaker succeeded in uniting House Republicans.

Now, he said, Biden and McCarthy must come to an agreement. Otherwise, he said, we will be in a stalemate. And we shouldn’t do that to the country.

Associated Press writers Josh Boak, Mary Clare Jalonick and Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.