'There is nothing in this framework that violates our principles,' Boehner said Sunday. GOP rallies around Boehner

House Republicans praised Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and the deal he cut to avoid a national default during a rare Sunday night conference call, giving first-blush approval to a plan that must still be committed to legislation and passed by both chambers of Congress.

Now comes the hard part for the four heads of congressional caucuses: Selling the fine print.


That’s the job that Boehner, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) signed up for when each gave his or her word to President Barack Obama Sunday night that the deal was in hand.

It’s complicated, multi-dimensional and full of peril for the priorities of each side — so much so that while the White House pointed to the possibility of the Bush tax cuts expiring, House Republican leaders were telling their rank and file that the deal made that scenario less likely.

It’s not “the greatest deal in the world,” Boehner told his troops.

“But it shows how much we’ve changed the terms of the debate in this town,” Boehner said on the call, according to a transcript released by the speaker’s office. “There is nothing in this framework that violates our principles. It’s all spending cuts.”

Come Monday, all eyes will be on House Republicans because they seldom jump in line without a fight.

Boehner’s lieutenants, including Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), applauded the speaker for pushing the president as far as he could while avoiding the economic and political calamity that could result from a default on the nation’s debt — which the Treasury Department has said will happen after Aug. 2 if the cap on the country’s borrowing authority isn’t raised.

House GOP leaders hope to have a bill on the floor on Monday, but no decision has yet been made on which chamber will consider the legislation first.

If the deal holds — and rank-and-file members of both parties in both chambers must still review the particulars — it promises to move Washington out of a crisis mode and into a deficit-reduction mindset. The agreement provides for an increase in the debt ceiling of roughly $900 billion — in two installments — followed by equivalent spending cuts over the next decade. It would also create a “supercommittee” of a dozen lawmakers charged with putting together a deficit-reduction package of $1.2 trillion to $1.5 trillion that can pass Congress. Short of that, automatic cuts of $1.2 trillion to $1.5 trillion, split between domestic and “security” programs, would automatically take effect.

“I think that we have set the tone for the discussion in the year ahead, and I think that’s important,” Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) told POLITICO Sunday night.

But there will be loud voices of opposition. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), a leading presidential contender, came out against the bill Sunday evening.

The right is not yet revolting. Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) said he will “wait and get clarification from the” Congressional Budget Office, “however at this time I believe this is a good plan for the American people.”

On the call, Cantor thanked Boehner, saying he did a great job and it was a big win. He also said it was a good deal for conservatives and the decades long fight to get a balanced budget amendment to the constitution passed. Boehner thanked Cantor for conceiving many of the cuts during the talks led by Vice President Joseph R. Biden, the 87-member freshman class and House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) for writing his budget.

McCarthy said “well done, Mr. Speaker.” Ryan said this is a “better deal” than the previous legislation, according to a source on the call.

“I’m amazed you got one for one,” Ryan said, referring to Boehner’s promise that he would achieve spending cuts to outstrip the hike in the debt ceiling.

House Republicans are likely to meet at noon Monday, Republican Conference Chairman Jeb Hensarling (Texas) announced.

Boehner said that Republicans should be able to pass this legislation on their own, because its similar to the bill the GOP moved earlier this week. He said Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) pledged her support for the legislation, but vowed not to rely on them. Pelosi has scheduled a Democratic caucus meeting for Monday. Both that meeting and the GOP’s noon confab will be crucial for both parties to gauge the support of their members.

“I look forward to reviewing the legislation with my caucus to see what level of support we can provide,” Pelosi said in a Sunday night statement.

The praise for Boehner was effusive on the Republican conference call.

Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said it was an amazing performance and he would enjoy watching House Democrats vote for it. Rep. Donald Manzullo (R-Ill.) likened the deal to getting an eagle on the 18th hole to win the U.S. Open golf tournament. Rep. Mike Kelly, a freshman Pennsylvania Republican, said Boehner should have a Gatorade and a cigarette.

“How about a Merlot and a cigarette,” the speaker replied, according to a GOP source who listened in.

On the call, which took place at the tail end of a furious week of negotiating and political posturing, Boehner said if he was to have written the legislation, it would look different. But he told his members that he wouldn’t have put it out if he thought it violated GOP principles or hurt the economy.

The speaker told his members that he fought for eight to 10 hours today to pare back defense cuts — the final major sticking point in the legislation. He said Democrats wanted large defense cuts — “a scalp,” he told lawmakers. Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.), who voted for the last bill, said on the call that he’s concerned about defense spending.

GOP leaders worked to expand the defense category to include homeland security and State Department accounts — diminishing the potential blow to the Pentagon.

Shortly before the call, Boehner emailed lawmakers a seven-page sideshow presentation in advance of their conference call which calls the debt deal a “two-step approach to hold President Obama accountable.”

The blue PowerPoint slideshow says that the deal has “three main features:” it cuts government spending more than it raises the debt cap, puts in place spending cuts that “restrain(s) future spending,” and “advances the cause of a balanced budget amendment.”

That’s the main sell to House Republicans as Congress looks to move quickly to avoid a default on the nation’s debt.

The presentation blares in a large headline: “no tax hikes.” In addition, the slideshow indicates that the committee created by the legislation will work off current budget baselines, “effectively making it impossible for Joint Committee to increase taxes.”

And to assuage conservative concerns, Boehner’s outline given to members for the conference call indicates that it “creates incentive for previous opponents of a [balanced budget agreement] to now support it.”a