House Speaker McCarthy Inches Closer to Passing $4.8 Trillion Package, With House Vote Expected Today

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is making progress on his $4.8 trillion package, which would enable the House GOP to use the debt-ceiling as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the Senate and White House. After making a series of changes overnight to win over holdouts, McCarthy is now inching closer to passing the bill on the House floor.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) said the House could vote as early as today on the package. This vote is a major test for McCarthy, who can lose no more than four GOP votes before the bill collapses, with Democrats expected to unify against it.

McCarthy has faced early skepticism from members in swing districts, but several of the holdouts seem to have changed their minds as a result of the changes to the package. McCarthy has also repeatedly vowed he wouldn’t bend to the pressure from extremists in his caucus, but he was forced to make changes to the bill overnight to get it through the House Rules Committee.

Scalise said the House GOP wants President Biden to finally start getting engaged in the process. “We want to get this done as soon as possible, but more importantly, we want President Biden to finally start getting engaged in this process,” he said.

The outcome of the vote will be a key indicator of McCarthy’s ability to lead the House GOP and pass legislation. It will also be an indication of how successful the House GOP will be in negotiating with the Senate and White House.