Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) said Sunday that he has more than enough votes to prevent Democrats from passing a “clean” debt ceiling increase.
Appearing on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” Lee told host Maria Bartiromo that 45 Republicans, including himself, would vote against a bill that raises the debt ceiling without meaningful spending reforms. He said because of the Senate filibuster, that number is more than enough to block Democrats from passing a “clean” debt ceiling bill, and Lee believes that the conference will hold firm.
“As Kevin McCarthy, as Speaker of the House, meets with the White House, it’s imperative that he arrives position of negotiating power,” said Lee. “And to that end, we’ve got not only the Republican conference in the Senate backing what the Republicans in the House passed the week before last, we’ve also got a solid bloc of Republicans, more than enough, to block any sort of so-called ‘clean’ debt ceiling bill from going forward, anything that raises the debt ceiling without substantive spending and budgetary reforms.”
Lee said that 43 Republicans signed a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) declaring their opposition to a clean debt ceiling bill, and two more promised to back the effort without signing the letter. In total, there are 45 Republicans who will vote to prevent ending the debate on a clean debt ceiling bill.
Furthermore, Lee said the conference would remain united to oppose the debt limit increase. “We’ve got 43 Republican Senators who have signed this letter pledging to do exactly as I just described, and then we’ve got two more who for strategic reasons didn’t want to sign, but indicated that they will stand with us in the votes, [and] a couple of others who may yet decide to join us,” said Lee. “So that’s more than enough. Even if we lost one or two here or there, we’d still be fine, and I don’t think we’re gonna lose any of them.”
Lee led a group of 43 Senate Republicans who sent a letter to Schumer on Saturday opposing a clean debt ceiling increase.
“The Senate Republican conference is united behind the House Republican conference in support of spending cuts and structural budget reform as a starting point for negotiations on the debt ceiling,” the Senators wrote.
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“Our economy is in free fall due to unsustainable fiscal policies. This trajectory must be addressed with fiscal reforms. Moreover, recent Treasury projections have reinforced the urgency of addressing the debt ceiling. The House has taken a responsible first step in coming to the table with their proposals. It is imperative that the president now do the same. As such, we will not be voting for cloture on any bill that raises the debt ceiling without substantive spending and budget reforms.”
