Fallout rises from McCarthy handshake deal with White House

Lawmakers in both parties are growing increasingly concerned about where a handshake deal between the White House and former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on spending stands as they negotiate how the government should be funded next year.

The Biden administration and House GOP leadership worked to pass legislation known as the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) in late spring as part of a larger deal to suspend the debt ceiling and set budget caps for Congress to work from when it hashes out its full-year funding bills months later. 

But now that Congress is trying to ramp up its annual appropriations work, critical components of that months-old deal that were not reflected in the law are in question as ultraconservatives, in pursuit of steeper cuts amid climbing debt, say Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is not beholden to what Democrats say is the full commitment made by McCarthy. 

“A deal is a deal is a deal,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), who serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said last week. “I think there’s no way we’re going to get to an appropriations deal if people can’t hold to their commitments.”