Four members of San Antonio’s congressional delegation voted against the debt ceiling deal

Four of the five members of San Antonio’s congressional delegation — two Republicans and two Democrats — voted against the deal to raise the debt ceiling and stave off likely financial disaster.

Republican U.S. Reps. Chip Roy and Tony Gonzales, frequently at odds over immigration issues, both voted against the bill. Meanwhile progressive Democratic Reps. Joaquin Castro and Greg Casar also gave it a thumbs down.

Only U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a moderate Democrat, voted in favor of the measure, which passed the House Wednesday on a 314-117 split. The Senate has until Monday to pass its version before the federal government begins to run out of money.

Roy, whose district also includes both Austin and a swath of San Antonio, was the highest profile of the bill’s naysayers.

He joined two other far-right House members — Michael Cloud of Victoria and Keith Self of McKinney — in rejecting the proposal. The trio said it violates a pledge to slash federal spending that Kevin McCarthy struck earlier this year in exchange for their support in his bid to become House speaker.

“If we can’t kill it, we’re going to have to regroup and figure out the whole leadership arrangement again,” Roy said during a Tuesday appearance on Glenn Beck’s radio show, making a not-so-veiled threat to boot McCarthy off the Speaker’s dais.

Tony Gonzales, whose district includes part of San Antonio and wide swath of the border, released no statement explaining his decision to vote against the bill.

Meanwhile, Casar and Castro were among four Texas Democrats who refused to back the deal negotiated between McCarthy and the Biden White House.

In an NPR interview, Casar — whip for the Congressional Progressive Caucus — voiced concern about the part of the compromise that raises the age for work requirements for food stamp recipients. He credited his caucus with staving off more cuts to public assistance in the bill.

“The extremist Republicans holding the entire economy hostage don’t care about the deficit,” said Casar, whose district spans downtown San Antonio and downtown Austin. “They’ve been caring about kicking a few people aged 50 to 54 off of their meagre food assistance.”

Castro has offered no public statement on his opposition.

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This article appears in May 31 – Jun 13, 2023.