In a statement on Thursday afternoon, the group blasted the Senate for heading to recess as bipartisan debt limit talks continue, saying the House “has done its job in passing the Limit, Save, Grow Act to provide a mechanism to raise the debt ceiling.”
“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,” the group added.
Republicans have been largely unified in recent weeks behind Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) strategy in debt ceiling negotiations with the White House.
But the recent statement could pose some trouble to that unity, as tensions rise between both sides amid a serious time crunch to avert a federal default.
Two weeks stand between Washington and a June 1 deadline the Treasury forecasts as the earliest date the nation could default on its debt absent congressional action.
Leaders on both sides say they’ve been far apart in their positions since negotiations between the White House and House GOP leadership began in earnest last week.
But McCarthy voiced optimism in both sides reaching a deal soon earlier on Thursday.
“We’re not there. We haven’t agreed to anything yet. But I see the path that we could come through,” McCarthy told reporters Thursday morning.
“It’d be important to try to have the agreement, especially in principle, by sometime this weekend,” the speaker continued.
The Hill’s Emily Brooks and Mychael Schnell have more here.
