GOP Rep Jordan: No to Budget Deal

CNN reports:

A key conservative leader in the House of Representatives said Tuesday he opposes the budget deal negotiated last week by President Barack Obama and Speaker John Boehner.

Rep. Jim Jordan -- like Boehner an Ohio Republican -- called the $38.5 billion in cuts included in the deal insufficient, noting that House Republicans had originally proposed a much larger package of spending reductions. In January, the GOP-controlled House passed a budget blueprint calling for $61 billion in cuts.

"While I respect that some of my Republican colleagues will ultimately support this spending deal, I believe voters are asking us to set our sights higher," said Jordan, head of the Republican Study Committee, a group of conservative lawmakers.

"Making a real impact will require the discipline to do the right thing even when it's the hard thing. Americans want us to reach higher, act bolder, and remember the job we were sent here to do."

While Jordan's opposition won't necessarily translate into defeat for the measure, it does illustrate the political tightrope Boehner continues to walk as he negotiates with the Democratic Senate and White House while trying to keep an increasingly conservative GOP caucus unified.

Boehner's office released a statement after Jordan's announcement calling the deal "far from perfect," but praising it as "a positive first step and a credible down payment" on future spending reductions.