A Republican from Louisiana who was the chief negotiator for the debt ceiling deal said House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was not at risk of being ousted by his fellow Republicans.
Speaking on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday, Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) told host Margaret Brennan, “President McCarthy’s position is absolutely secure.”
The deal to raise the debt ceiling and make some cuts to the federal budget was approved by the Republican-led House on Wednesday and the Democratic-led Senate on Thursday. However, what was potentially troubling for McCarthy was that more Democrats than Republicans voted for the package that House Republicans had crafted with Speaker Joe Biden and his team.
“I have no doubt his position is secure, and we’re going to keep moving forward, continuing to build on the historic wins he’s been able to achieve this year,” Graves said of McCarthy, calling him ” one of the best strategists. we never had.”
Brennan pointed out that 71 House Republicans voted against the deal and noted that a number of them continued to speak out against the deal. Graves said some of the opponents of the legislation were misinformed about the deal, even before it was finalized.
“People came out and started trying to hammer out a deal while they were still in negotiations,” he said. “There wasn’t even a deal done and their interpretation or definition of the deal, as you can imagine, was wrong.”
Biden signed the legislation Saturday, thanking McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell “for their partnership.”
Brennan asked Graves if both sides could build on the deal with more bipartisan legislation.
“The negotiations were certainly in good faith, but they were also very frank,” he replied. “We had some tense moments throughout, but I’d like to tell you that we could build on that.”