GOP Divisions Emerge In First Major Battle Of The Post-Cantor Era
SAHIL KAPUR JUNE 24, 2014, 4:16 PM EDT
House and Senate Republicans appear divided on whether to keep the Export-Import Bank alive in the wake of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's defeat. The emerging battle has pit the conservative wing of the party against the business community, White House and Democrats.
Incoming House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) changed his longstanding position on Sunday when he came out against reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank once its charter expires on Sept. 30. The trade bank, first established in 1934, assists the sale of U.S. exports with loans, guarantees and other financial products.
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) refused to support its reauthorization when asked Tuesday morning. But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said the issue of whether to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank should come up for a vote.
"I think we ought to take it up," McConnell told reporters on Tuesday afternoon. "I haven't decided what I'm going to do but I do think it's an issue that's important enough to be debated and voted on in the Senate."
That's an interesting position because Democrats are overwhelmingly supportive of renewing Ex-Im, so they'd need just a handful of Republicans to clear a filibuster. When the issue last came up in 2012, 27 out of 47 Republican senators voted with all Democrats and one independent for the bank, in a deal brokered by Cantor. (McConnell voted against it then.)
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