Wisconsin House delegation fights over debt ceiling on Twitter instead of in Washington

WASHINGTON – Wisconsin's House Democrats attacked the state's two most vulnerable Republicans on Thursday as lawmakers left Capitol Hill for Memorial Day weekend without a deal in place to raise the country's debt limit as a potential default looms.

Democratic U.S. Reps. Mark Pocan and Gwen Moore released statements singling out Republican U.S. Reps. Bryan Steil and Derrick Van Orden for letting "Republican leadership adjourn the House of Representatives" without a deal and declining, along with the rest of the House GOP, to sign a discharge petition to force a clean debt ceiling raise. The comments ignited a Twitter fight between members of the delegation.

"Rep. Van Orden and his Republican colleagues are holding the country hostage, risking default for a 30 percent cut to most services that help nearly everyone in his district and across Wisconsin," the two Democrats said in a joint statement. They released a nearly identical attack on Steil.

Republicans, meanwhile, have pointed to their legislation passed late last month to raise the debt ceiling in exchange for sweeping spending cuts as evidence they have a plan. Both House and Senate Republicans have urged Democrats to put the bill on the Senate floor. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer refused to consider it.

"Pocan & Moore’s radical spending drove inflation," Steil tweeted in response to the attacks. "I voted to clean up their mess & responsibly lift the debt ceiling. They're the only WI Reps to vote against raising the debt ceiling & are following Biden's lead by burying their heads & hoping the mess they created goes away."

The exchange came hours after the House cast its last votes of the week and as lawmakers traveled back to their districts for the long weekend. It marked the first instance in which members of the state's delegation have publicly attacked each other as Congress nears a potential default that could come as early as June 1.

No deal has emerged from negotiations between the Biden administration and House Republicans to raise the nation's borrowing cap, and a default would be a severe blow to the global economy.

Steil's tweet sparked a spat among members of the delegation as the lawmakers took the debt ceiling debate online.

Moore tweeted a response to Steil that said she was "proud to vote NO" on what she called the Republicans' "Default on America Act." And Pocan also replied, claiming Steil "voted to cut funding for Wisconsin's seniors, vets, kids."

"The Default on America Act was never a real bill," Pocan wrote. "There’s been no negotiation from your side — only a hostage crisis w/ you willing to shoot them to get what you want. Republicans shouldn’t run from responsibility."

Soon after, Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany joined the conversation, tweeting: "@RepGwenMoore & @RepMarkPocan already damaged the economy when they spent TRILLIONS of dollars... I guess Democrats don’t listen to the Clinton News Network anymore or buy their own groceries to know how much their policies are hurting the American people."

An aide to Pocan later wrote in a text to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Since we can't debate on the floor in Washington, I guess this is the alternative."

Pocan and Moore in their initial statements noted the House Republican legislation to raise the debt ceiling, which would roll back spending to fiscal year 2022 levels, would result in cuts to programs and services that fall under the government's discretionary spending. The Republican bill would cap spending growth a 1% annually over the next 10 years.

Congressional Democrats have repeatedly called for a clean debt ceiling raise, and all 213 House Democrats as of Wednesday signed onto a so-called discharge petition that would bypass Republican leadership efforts to prevent a debt ceiling raise without attached spending cuts.

The petition needs the support of five Republicans to pass, and Moore and Pocan on Thursday singled out Steil and Van Orden — the two Wisconsin House members who represent swing districts. Both Steil and Van Orden have indicated they will run for reelection in 2024, and Democrats plan to make them top targets. The procedural move is unlikely to be successful, and no Republican has indicated support for a clean debt ceiling raise.

"I urge Bryan to sign the discharge petition to force a vote on a clean debt limit," Pocan said. "After that, then we can talk about spending levels in the normal appropriations process. But damaging the US economy by inaction is not a reasonable position for anyone to have."

The Wisconsin Democrats also highlighted the potential impacts of the GOP bill, including fewer railway inspections in the state, cuts to education funding and 22% cuts to government programs. Democrats have claimed in recent weeks that those cuts would also gut veterans benefits. Republicans, however, have denied their legislation, which does not lay out specific cuts, would hurt veterans.

Still, Wisconsin's Republican delegation has been united behind Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the Limit, Save, Grow Act passed last month.

Tiffany earlier Thursday morning told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the House GOP did their job in passing a debt ceiling proposal, noting the legislation raises the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion.

"All we're asking for is some fiscal responsibility and to put some pro-growth policies in place," Tiffany said. "We did that. We've done our job. The person that's not done their job at this point is Schumer."

Van Orden in a tweet Thursday afternoon also placed the blame for any potential default repercussions on Democrats.

"Nothing is more irresponsible than Biden and Schumer playing chicken with the global economy," Van Orden wrote. "They caused this time crunch because they waited 97 days to come to the table. If anything untoward comes of this, it is 100% on their shoulders."

Van Orden in a statement to the Journal Sentinel called the attack by Moore and Pocan "odd" because he recently made efforts to speak with them and said "Republicans voted to responsibly raise the debt ceiling to help stave off an economic disaster, and they chose theatrics."

"I was hoping they would put the people over politics, but unfortunately that appears to not be the case," Van Orden said. "This is another example of the radical position of the left and it is counterproductive."

Under House rules, lawmakers have 72 hours to review any bill brought to the floor, and members will be given 24 hours' notice to return to Washington should a deal be reached.

Some lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, a Juneau Republican, said they expected the House to return "early next week."

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin delegation trades barbs over debt limit as Congress recesses