The months-long standoff between Republicans in Congress and the White House appears to be coming to an end with the House of Representatives’ approval of a bill Raise the debt ceiling late on Wednesday. The deal, a compromise to reduce federal spending and avoid default, was crafted by President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and the speaker’s handling of the negotiations drew praise from one of his predecessors.
“I thought he did a very good job,” former House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, told CBS News Washington correspondent Major Jarrett in an interview on “The Takeout.”
Boehner served as Speaker of the House from 2011 to 2015 and used a similar tactic in 2011 to negotiate federal spending cuts with then-President Barack Obama. At the time, Boehner led a Republican majority, while the Senate was controlled by Democrats.
“When you don’t have many tools or leverage available, you have to use what is available and the maximum debt available,” Bonner said. “I had no choice but to use the leverage available to try to move the country in the direction I wanted it to move – more fiscal responsibility.”
Prior to 2011, Congress had raised the nation’s borrowing limit without decent partisan debate.
Bonner said he was not surprised that negotiators reached an agreement before the June 5 deadline.
“There was no question. Because McCarthy—everybody understands you can’t breach a debt limit. They won’t. So, they got themselves a deal. Good.”
By passing the debt limit measure with a bipartisan majority, McCarthy overcame opposition from the more conservative wing of his Republican convention. to do that. Remove the speaker.
“He did a good job, and he did a really great job,” Boehner said of McCarthy.
More of Major Garrett’s interview with John Boehner will be available at Takeout’s podcast feed June 9, or stream it on CBSNews.com on June 11 at 5 p.m
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