Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) said he believes there are enough votes to pass the debt ceiling bill in the House of Representatives on Wednesday despite opposition by several House Republicans.
McHenry, speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Wednesday, conceded that the deal did not get Republicans everything they wanted but reaffirmed that is the way negotiations work with Democrats in control of the Senate and the presidency.
The lead negotiator for House Republicans also said the deal should not leave any parties happy but that it is the nature of “a divided Washington,” adding the GOP should take the “wins” in the bill and move on to the “next fight,” which should be the 2024 elections.
“No one should be quite pleased with the nature of this package. It’s a negotiated package in a divided Washington, but we need to pass it, and we need to get some fiscal restraint out of it and policy wins, bag those, and move on to the next fight,” McHenry said. “And the next fight becomes, really, the political one in the election year for the presidency, control of the House and Senate.”