Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) said during an interview over the weekend that the tentative debt ceiling agreement that Republicans have reached with Democrats is a “big” win for the Republican Party.
“I mean, this is going to cut non-defense and non-VA spending back to 2022 levels,” Johnson told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.” “That is a big get for Republicans. That’s what we had in Limit, Save, Grow, and it’s going to save $1.5 trillion over the course of the next ten years.”
“It also, for six years, establishes caps at one percent, so we can slow the growth of spending,” he added.
When asked about criticisms that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) “gave up too much and could have gotten more,” Johnson said that the overwhelming majority of conservative members support it.
“I’m the head of a group of 75 pragmatic conservatives called the Main Street Caucus,” he said. “And so when we say conservatives are against it, I want to make it clear I don’t know a single one of the Main Street Caucus conservatives” who isn’t voting for it.
He later acknowledged that some members of the House Freedom Caucus might be against it but many will vote for it.
“So, when you’re saying that conservatives have concerns, it is really the most colorful conservatives,” he said. “Some of those guys you mentioned didn’t vote for the thing when it was kind of a Republican wish list, Limit, Save, Grow. Those votes were never really in play. We get that. But, overwhelmingly, Republicans in this conference are going to support the deal. How could they not? It is a fantastic deal.”
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