The Fiscal Responsibility Act, the compromise deal that was agreed upon by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and President Joe Biden, has passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 314-117, according to Just the News.

Republican feelings about the deal were split, however, as demonstrated by the fact that more Democrats backed the measure than Republicans in the House. After the final tally was taken, 71 Republicans and 46 Democrats opposed the deal. While the measure is very likely to gain a majority vote in the Senate, some see that there is an opportunity to block the measure from becoming law there.

As Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) pointed out on Twitter, "The Senate could still stop the Biden-McCarthy deal. Even if all 51 Democrats were to vote for it, it would still fail if at least 41 Senate Republicans were to oppose cloture (i.e., bringing debate to a close)." 

The Senate could still stop the Biden-McCarthy deal. Even if all 51 Democrats were to vote for it, it would still fail if at least 41 Senate Republicans were to oppose cloture (i.e., bringing debate to a close).https://t.co/u2T2j36Mmx

— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) June 1, 2023

Long shot? Sure. But it’s possible if Republicans continue to realize—as many now are—that McCarthy got played by @POTUS.

— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) June 1, 2023

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has made favorable comments about the deal. Senator McConnell remarked that he hopes the bill passes the Senate today or tomorrow. "I can tell you what I hope happens is that those who have amendments, if given votes, will yield back time so that we can finish this Thursday or Friday and soothe the country and soothe the markets," said Mr. McConnell.

Other Republicans are less sold on the deal than McConnell. Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) promised to "offer some amendments to make this thing salvageable. And we’ll see what ultimately comes out of the House. But in its present form I’m a firm no."

I’ll attempt to offer some amendments to make this thing salvageable. And we’ll see what ultimately comes out of the House. But in its present form I’m a firm no.

— J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) May 30, 2023

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Debates about the debt deal continue to rage. One representative, Austin Scott (R-GA), that voted in favor of McCarthy's deal, tepidly said, "[w]e have to take small victories and move the ball in the right direction" in response to criticism that the bill does not rein in spending enough. Speaker McCarthy defended the measure as being a stepping stone to better fiscal responsibility. "Think about how much further we could go...It’s not how you start. It’s how you finish. Each week we have stood up for the American public…Tonight, I hope we proved it to you again that we put the citizens of America first" said the Speaker after the bill's passage. 

Freshman Representative Eli Crane (R-AZ) questioned whether the bill was indeed such a win for Republicans given that "[i]f this is so historic, why are 100 Democrats going to be voting for it" and consequently this fact "should tell the American people right there what this bill is all about."

The general criticism of the bill revolves around it increasing the debt limit by $4 trillion and that Republicans had previously managed to rally around a bill that raised the debt limit by $1.5 trillion. Defenders of the deal point toward the Congressional Budget Office's assessment that the Fiscal Responsibility Act impact would decrease the immense $32 trillion in federal debt by $1.5 trillion over a ten-year period.