Majority Leader Mitch McConnell urged Senate lawmakers to pass a massive federal spending and borrowing deal as Republicans registered their opposition to the measure.
“I am confident it is not exactly the legislation that either side of the aisle would have written if one party held the White House, the House, and had 60 votes in the Senate,” McConnell said Wednesday morning. “That’s divided government. But I am equally confident that this is a deal that every one of my colleagues should support when we vote on it in the near future.”
President Trump is urging lawmakers to back the deal and has phoned Senate Republicans to convince them to vote “yes.” Lawmakers are likely to vote on the measure Thursday, when Democrats participating in the presidential debate in Detroit return to the Capitol. It’s expected to pass, thanks to hefty support from Democrats. The vote could also occur as early as Wednesday because lawmakers are eager to leave town for the August recess.
The Senate effort to bolster Republican support follows a GOP revolt against the plan in the House.
The chamber passed the resolution last week, but most Republicans voted against it because of the cost and lack of offsets.
The deal isn’t winning over Republicans across the Capitol. Even McConnell doesn’t like it.
He distanced himself from the accord by labeling it, “The Administration-Pelosi budget agreement.”
It raises federal spending caps by $320 billion over two years, and it green-lights unfettered federal borrowing until July 31, 2021.
The terms were largely negotiated by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California.
Mnuchin was seeking a quick and generous debt ceiling increase, and he was willing to trade away Trump’s demand for reining in nonmilitary spending by agreeing to the the demand by Democrats to bolster domestic budgets by 4%.
He agreed to cut in half Trump’s demand for offsets, reducing them to a mere $77 billion.
Both parties, meanwhile are desperate to avoid another government shutdown that would have become far more likely without a caps deal.
McConnell, a staunch opponent of spending showdowns that have plagued Congress for years, said he’d back anything the president is willing to sign and Trump, McConnell told lawmakers Wednesday, “is ready and eager to sign it.”
But with few federal spending restraints in the accord conservatives in both chambers have mostly rejected the plan, which funds the federal government at $1.3 billion next year.
Among the “no” votes so far: Sens. Mitt Romney and Mike Lee, both of Utah, Rick Scott of Florida, and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin. Sen. Tim Scott, R-South Carolina, told Fox News Tuesday he’s leaning against voting for the deal.
McConnell argued on Wednesday that Republicans should back the caps accord because it would bolster defense spending, which was underfunded for years, harming readiness and safety.
The accord would increase the military budget by about 3%, to $738 billion.
“This government funding agreement is the right deal for our national defense,” McConnell said.
“Republicans’ number one priority was investing in our national defense,” McConnell said. “After eight years of neglect and atrophy under the Obama administration, Congress has worked hand-in-hand with the Trump administration to begin writing a new chapter.”
