Rep. Jim Himes calls debt limit deal 'very small'

The debt limit agreement the White House and GOP negotiators reached Saturday night does not include any Democratic priorities, Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) said Sunday, but it may still get Democratic votes because it’s a “very small bill.”

“Had the bill looked anything like what the Republicans passed on the floor where they rescinded all the money designed to create an electric battery industry in this country, designed to further reduce drug prices, you would have had unanimity against it,” Himes told host Shannon Bream on “Fox News Sunday.”

But the bill, for instance, rescinds only a “very, very small fraction,” of the $80 billion set to fund the IRS, Himes said.

“So again, not a bill that will make any Democrats happy, but it is a small enough bill that in the service of actually not destroying the economy this week, may get Democratic votes.”

The fact that “none of the things in the bill are Democratic priorities,” is not a surprise Himes said, since Republicans hold a majority in the House, albeit a very slim one.