Conservatives bash the budget deal: 'The president got whatever he wanted'
The White House and congressional leaders may have reached a tentative budget deal Monday night, but conservatives are making it known that they're not thrilled about the compromise. Politico reports that almost as soon as GOP lawmakers emerged from a briefing with party leaders Monday, they started expressing their doubts over a deal that would increase defense and domestic spending over the next two years and raise the debt limit.
Here's a full list of their grievances:
1. The deal's quick turnaround
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"I have strong concerns given that we did a budget earlier this year [and] took $7 trillion out of the president's budget over the next 10 years. These last-minute deals make me very nervous." — Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.)
2. How much the deal concedes to Democrats — and retiring House Speaker John Boehner
"What does Boehner got to do with it? I'm worried about how fast it's moving. I see no reason for that. Based on what I know now, it appears the president got whatever he wanted." — Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.)
3. The GOP leadership's handling of the deal
"We're not just here to take commands. We're really tired of the top-down, micromanagement where you have just a few people, or in this case just the speaker and his team, determining the outcome. This is a fair reason to vote against the bill." — Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.)
4. The seeming retreat from staunch spending restrictions
"I have some concerns. You hope that in a debt limit context that you actually reduce spending. That's the idea to — as you raise the debt limit, deal with the underlying debt crisis that we have." — Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio)
5. The lack of consideration for the country's "best interest"
"Looking at the information that we've gathered so far, I'm not necessarily in a position where I think that's in the best interest of our country going forward. It's just hard to justify that we're not figuring out how to clamp down on spending." — Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.)
Republicans will be meeting once again behind closed doors Tuesday morning. A vote on the bill is expected to happen as early as Wednesday.
If Congress does not pass a budget deal soon, the Treasury Department says that the government will default on its debt by Nov. 3. Funding for government spending is set to expire on Dec. 11.
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