MCCARTHY HUNTING FOR VOTES AMID GOP BACKLASH

WASHINGTON — Under fire from conservatives, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy worked furiously Tuesday to sell fellow Republicans on the debt ceiling and budget deal he negotiated with President Joe Biden and win approval in time to avert a potentially disastrous U.S. default.

Leaders of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus lambasted the compromise as falling well short of the spending cuts they demand, and they vowed to try to halt passage. A much larger conservative faction, the Republican Study Committee, declined to take a position. Even rank-and-file centrist conservatives were not sure, leaving McCarthy desperately hunting for votes.

The House Rules Committee voted 7-6 Tuesday to advance a bill dealing with the federal debt ceiling to the full House, with two Republicans joining Democrats to oppose.

The full House is expected to vote Wednesday.

With tough days ahead, the speaker assembled lawmakers for pizza behind closed doors Tuesday evening at the Capitol, after publicly urging skeptical GOP colleagues to “look at where the victories are.” Earlier, he said on “Fox and Friends” that “There’s nothing in the bill for” Democrats — hardly a helpful statement for Biden.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the spending restrictions would reduce deficits by $1.5 trillion over the decade, a top goal for the Republicans.

But in a surprise that could further erode Republican support, the GOP’s drive to impose work requirements on older Americans receiving food stamps ends up boosting spending by $2.1 billion over the time period. That’s because the final deal exempted veterans and homeless people, expanding the food stamp rolls, the CBO said.

McCarthy brushed past questions, saying “everybody is elected” to have their own vote.