Freedom Caucus Rep. Tells McCarthy ‘It’s War’ If He Settles on Debt Ceiling

As President Biden and Kevin McCarthy express tentative optimism on reaching a deal to avoid a catastrophic debt default, some hard-line conservatives are threatening McCarthy not to yield. “If (the) Speaker’s negotiators bring back in substance a clean debt limit increase… one so large that it even protects Biden from the issue in the presidential…, it’s war,” Rep. Dan Bishop, a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus, tweeted on Saturday. Bishop’s pushback hints at a growing schism between more moderate Republicans, who might be willing to meet Biden halfway, and a wing of the party willing to break the economy to try and force a total concession from the White House. “Biden and the Democrats created the debt crisis. They need to take responsibility to fix it—not to kick the can down the road for another few years,” Bishop added in a later tweet. “No Republican capitulation.”