Conservative Republicans hissed and groaned at Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin as he implored them to vote for a hurricane relief bill that includes a short-term extension of the federal debt limit.
Conservative Republicans hissed and groaned at Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin as he implored them to vote for a hurricane relief bill that includes a short-term extension of the federal debt limit.
Some Republicans, attending a closed door meeting Friday, were infuriated by the sales pitch for the deal, especially when Mnuchin told them to “vote for the debt ceiling for me, ” said Representative Mark Walker of North Carolina.
“The comments from the treasury secretary today were not helpful, ” said Representative Dave Brat of Virginia. “I found them to be intellectually insulting.”
The House later in the morning passed the deal brokered by Democrats and President Donald Trump to suspend the debt limit, keep the government open through Dec. 8 and provide $15.25 billion in aid to flood victims in Texas and other parts of the Gulf coast. The measure, already passed by the Senate, now goes to Trump for his signature.
Republicans also laughed at White House budget director Mick Mulvaney during his presentation. Several said it was ironic that Mulvaney, who as a Freedom Caucus member led several fights over the debt limit and pushed to shut down the government, pleaded with Republicans to pass the kind of measure he used to crusade against. One member even joked in the meeting that more Freedom Caucus members should be hired by the Office of Management and Budget so that their views would change too.
Republicans complained that Mnuchin only took a few questions and didn’ t provide satisfactory responses.
“One of the questions was, ‘What does the debt ceiling look like in December?’ and he could not answer that question, ” said Walker.
After the meeting, Mnuchin left the building quickly, answering one question from a reporter as he departed, saying that he asked the House GOP to raise the debt ceiling.
