The clown car that has been Rep. Kevin McCarthy's speakership spluttered to a halting start over 15 long ballots in January and hasn't had a second of a smooth ride since. From botched committee hearings to failed subcommittees to intra-leadership disputes, the House speaker's tenure has been a kaleidoscope of incompetence. But McCarthy's latest stumble is the most important, as it concerns the entire U.S. economy.
Last week, McCarthy finally introduced his debt ceiling bill, which would raise the limit by $1.5 trillion until March 31, 2024 — that is, not even for one year.
The problem here isn't the bill itself — even though it has the absence of substance you'd expect from today's GOP. The problem is that the basic elements of what's being requested in the bill have been public knowledge for months, and yet McCarthy and his team have dawdled on bringing it to the floor. And even after all this time, McCarthy is, once again, struggling to find the 218 votes he needs to pass the proposal. "The whip count on this is not good," one senior Republican told Axios on Thursday.
This is a preview of James Downie's latest article. Read the full column here.
