Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said he “gasped” when he heard President Trump was working with Democrats on a spending deal.
Following a meeting at the White House on Wednesday, President Trump agreed to a new deal to extend federal spending and borrowing authority for the next three months favored by the Democrats.
Many Republicans, like Cramer, were caught off guard by the move.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., had previously derided a three-month debt-limit increase, while Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has since expressed support for the deal.
Later in the day Trump gave a speech on tax reform in North Dakota on Wednesday. Cramer, along with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Sen. John Hoeven, spoke to the press during the flight back to Washington on Air Force One.
“In fact, I sought clarification when the president told us before the flight — I sought clarification to make sure I understood that applied to the debt ceiling and the CR, and not just the CR,” Cramer said, referring to the continuing resolution. “When we received that confirmation, I said, ‘wow.'”
Cramer said he worries about raising the debt ceiling too many times ahead of an election year.
“The speaker and the leader felt the same, or they wouldn’t have agreed to it. Now it’s going to be a tough sell in our conference, there is no question about it,” Cramer said.
