Ocasio-Cortez says she’s voting against debt limit bill

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is planning to vote against the debt limit bill Wednesday as the Treasury Department’s June 5 deadline for a default fast approaches, according to her office.

The New York lawmaker, one of the highest-profile progressives in Congress, had earlier signaled she would oppose the legislation.

“My red line has already been surpassed,” Ocasio-Cortez said earlier this month. “I mean, where do we start? [No] clean debt ceiling. Work requirements. Cuts to programs. I would never — I would never — vote for that.”

Other progressives have also expressed concerns with the legislation, as have a number of lawmakers on the other side of the aisle, raising questions about whether Congress will be able to pass it in time.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and President Biden announced Saturday that they had reached a tentative agreement on a debt ceiling deal after weeks of tough negotiations between the two sides. McCarthy released the text of the bill the next day. 

Even with the agreement, some House Republicans have said they plan to vote against the debt ceiling bill, including Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas.) and Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas.). 

But the legislation cleared a key hurdle Tuesday night after the House Rules Committee advanced the bill on a 7-6 vote, with Roy and Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) joining Democrats to oppose it.

While that marks a necessary victory for proponents of the bill, its fate is not yet certain, as both parties look to rally their members ahead of a floor debate Wednesday.

It’s not yet clear how many progressives in the House will vote against it, though Ocasio-Cortez’s remarks up the pressure on House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).

Treasury Department Secretary Janet Yellen has said the U.S. had until June 5 to raise the debt ceiling in order to avoid a default, which economists warn could wreak havoc on the economy.

Mychael Schnell and Mike Lillis contributed.