Poll: Americans Agree with Bipartisan McCarthy/Biden Debt Ceiling Deal

A poll shows that Americans largely support the bipartisan debt ceiling deal negotiated between Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the Biden White House.

Surveying 1,520 U.S. adults between May 25 to May 30, the Yahoo News/YouGov poll showed that Americans overwhelmingly favor the types of compromises proposed in the deal, such as a reduction in spending, while disfavoring a potential default on U.S. loans. When asked if they agreed on “smaller spending cuts in order to raise the debt limit, which could be approved with a combination of Democratic and Republican votes,” Americans were overwhelmingly in favor of such a deal.

Per Yahoo News:

Overall, twice as many Americans say they would favor such a compromise (43 percent) as say they would oppose it (21 percent). And while Democrats were the most positive group (by a 54 percent to 17 percent margin), both independents (41 percent to 20 percent) and Republicans (43 percent to 28 percent) also expressed more support than opposition.

The survey shows similar results to follow-up questions about how House Republicans should react if Biden “refuses to accept deeper Republican spending cuts” (which is effectively what the president did after the House GOP passed its own spending bill last month). In response, a full 56 percent of Americans say Republicans should either agree to smaller cuts that can pass with Democratic and Republican votes (36 percent) or agree to raise the debt limit without any spending cuts at all (20 percent).

Only 17 percent of Americans surveyed said that Congress should allow for a default instead of raising the debt ceiling while only 27 percent of Republicans agreed that the U.S. should default on its loans.

As Breitbart News reported on Wednesday, the House overwhelmingly voted to approve the “Fiscal Responsibility Action, passing it 314 to 117 in favor. It will now be sent to the Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate for consideration.

“149 Republicans and 165 Democrats voted in favor of the legislation, a wide majority for both parties,” the report said. “The high-stakes vote, which summoned members back to Washington during Memorial Day recess week, had presented Republican leaders with their most difficult whipping challenge yet given the party’s general aversion to raising the nation’s borrowing limit.”

“The bill increases the limit, which currently stands at $31 trillion, through January 2025, while implementing Republicans’ desired spending caps and other provisions. It comes after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned a debt default could occur as early as June 5,” it added.

Related: Dem Rep. Sherrill: Debt Limit Bill “Is McCarthy’s Bill,” but I’ll Vote for It to Avoid Default

Paul Roland Bois joined Breitbart News in 2021. He also directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed on Tubi, Google Play, YouTube Movies, or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.