Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, on Sunday blamed Republican leadership for President Donald Trump’s debt ceiling deal with Democrats.
“Frankly, what options did the President have?” Jordan said on “Fox News Sunday.”
Jordan said he didn’t think the deal was “a good deal for the American taxpayer,” but said Republican lawmakers “should have stayed” in Washington “and put together a plan” rather than going home for August recess.
“When you fail to prepare, you get a bad outcome,” he said. “That’s what happened here.”
Asked about reports that there is friction between the House Freedom Caucus and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), Jordan said, “No one’s talking about changing the leadership.”
Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC), the chair of the House Freedom Caucus, expressed similar opinions on the heels of Trump’s unexpected deal.
“You’ve got to give options for the President to consider. If there’s no conservative option there, ultimately the President making a decision based on what’s best for the country has to weigh all those factors,” Meadows said. “I don’t know of a conservative debt limit strategy that was being offered—do any of you?”
And on Friday, Meadows said he had “no plan” to get rid of Ryan.
“There is nothing there,” he said. “And I can tell you that if I was working on a plan to depose the speaker, you wouldn’t be reading about it in the press.”
