GOP Freshmen Behind Budget Deal

Politico reports:

It’s not nearly as big a cut as they wanted, but the ambitious class of freshmen Republicans isn’t about to upset a budget deal with one of the largest cuts in federal government history.

Several freshmen — who came to Washington saying they wouldn’t compromise — insisted Friday night the $39 billion in cuts negotiated by lawmakers and the White House was a major win for Republicans and a sign of what’s to come when leaders negotiate a debt ceiling vote and debate the 2012 budget after that.

“It shows that we’re serious and we’re determined in the fight to cut spending to amounts that we can afford, ” said Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks after his conference meeting broke late last night. “And that resumes tomorrow on the debt ceiling and on the FY 2012, absolutely. This was one battle in the war, and we won the first battle—and it resumes tomorrow.”

During the week leading up to the 11th hour deal, some lawmakers admitted that they felt anxious about House Speak John Boehner’s unwillingness to discuss the details of the negotiations with his own members—even if they understood the speaker was trying to avoid media leaks. They say his strategy ultimately paid off Friday.

“This was good work and leadership on part of the speaker and we need to view this as victory and move onto the next obstacle. We’ve made our statement,” said Rep. Rick Crawford, who organized a series of freshmen budget protests over the past week.

In fact, Boehner seems to have built up some goodwill with the freshmen who gave Republicans the majority — even if they would have liked something closer to $61 billion.

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