Cantor Doesn't Support Cliff Deal

Still no decision on House vote
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 1, 2013 3:25 PM CST
Cantor Doesn't Support Cliff Deal
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Va. leaves a Republican caucus meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013.   (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

There's quite a bit of pressure on the House to pass the Senate's fiscal cliff deal today, but Eric Cantor may have just thrown a big wrench into the proceedings: The House Majority Leader revealed in a closed-door meeting of House Republicans today that he doesn't support the deal, lawmakers tell the New York Times—and many of his GOP colleagues feel the same way. They're unhappy that the legislation doesn't include enough spending cuts. Cantor himself told reporters this afternoon, "I do not support the bill," but added that no decisions have been made, CNN reports.

Aides say that Speaker John Boehner also has concerns and is considering the complaints he's hearing, but has not yet taken a firm position, though he's repeatedly said he'll allow a vote on the bill. "I would be shocked if this bill doesn’t go back to the Senate" for amendments, said Rep. Spencer Bachus. As for House Democrats, they met with Joe Biden today and the Times calls them "generally sanguine," if not all that excited, about the deal. Nancy Pelosi called on the House to allow "a straight up-or-down vote," NBC News reports. Meanwhile, the Congressional Budget Office said that the deal will add $4 trillion to the US deficit over the next 10 years, the Telegraph reports. (More fiscal cliff stories.)

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