Thirty-eight Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives — all deficit hawks — voted against a temporary spending bill and a debt ceiling increase on Thursday, defying president-elect Donald Trump.
Coastal Georgia Congressman Earl “Buddy” Carter, a self-described deficit hawk, wasn’t one of them.
The vote on a revised spending bill came one day after Trump rejected a spending bill struck between Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Democrats to avoid a Christmastime government shutdown.
Cheered on by Elon Musk, Trump said lawmakers needed to pass a spending bill “without Democrat giveaways,” as well as raise the debt ceiling, the cap on how much money the United States is authorized to borrow to meet its financial obligations.
But the 38 Republicans argued that any increase in the debt ceiling must be offset by budget cuts. They, along with Democrats, rejected Trump’s preferred plan.
And on Friday, Carter joined other Republicans and Democrats in voting in favor of a slimmed-down spending bill, which passed the Senate early Saturday by a vote of 85-11 and was signed into law by President Joe Biden hours later.
The spending package, which keeps the federal government funded until March 14, temporarily extends farm programs and provides more than $100 billion in federal disaster relief, most of it for damage caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. It didn’t contain the debt-ceiling increase urged by Trump.
In a statement issued by his office, Carter said the disaster relief was his “top priority” in the spending package. The spending bill didn’t, however, include language to rein in the pharmacy benefit manager industry, which Carter has championed.
Notable successes
In the waning days of the legislative session, the five-term congressman from St. Simons enjoyed two notable successes.
The House passed the “Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act,” which Carter has championed with Paris Hilton. Biden is expected to sign the measure into law.
On Friday, the new chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY), appointed Carter to head the panel’s health subcommittee.
“Congressman Carter is focused on increasing transparency in our healthcare system and lowering the costs of prescription drugs by holding middlemen accountable,” a statement released by Carter’s office quoted Guthrie as saying.
“I look forward to working with Congressman Carter to develop conservative health solutions for the American people.”