House conservatives: 'No further discussion' on debt limit until Senate can pass a bill

As negotiations between the White House and congressional leaders on the debt limit continue, the conservative House Freedom Caucus is advocating for House Speaker McCarthy and the Senate GOP to get the House-passed debt limit bill signed into law, setting up a last minute showdown on the issue.

Whatever deal President Biden and McCarthy agree to will have to pass through the GOP-led House and Democratic-led Senate. Unless enough House Democrats support passage of the agreement, unanimous opposition from the House Freedom Caucus could sink the deal. There are currently close to 50 members of the caucus.

Biden, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have been pushing for a clean debt ceiling increase. The Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, has said there aren't enough votes for a clean debt ceiling bill without spending reforms. The two sides have about two weeks to hash out an agreement that can pass through Congress to avoid the possibility of default.

The GOP-led House recently passed a bill to raise the debt limit into next year by $1.5 trillion, which includes limits on domestic spending growth and the elimination of select green energy tax credits that are part of the Democrats' $740 billion Inflation Reduction Act that passed last year.

"The U.S. House of Representatives has done its job in passing the Limit, Save, Grow Act to provide a mechanism to raise the debt ceiling. This legislation is the official position of the House Freedom Caucus and, by its passage with 217 votes, the entire House Republican Conference," said a spokesperson for the conservative caucus.

"The House Freedom Caucus calls on Speaker McCarthy and Senate Republicans to use every leverage and tool at their disposal to ensure the Limit, Save, Grow Act is signed into law. There should be no further discussion until the Senate passes the legislation," he added.

The spokesperson said his statement describes the "official position" of the entire conservative caucus.