The Hill News

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Monday that he expects more opposition to raising the debt ceiling within the GOP than for the agreement to fund government for the remaining fiscal year.

Paul, a Tea Party figurehead who has said he's almost certain to vote against raising the debt limit, predicted that even more Republican lawmakers would join him in opposition than did for the spending agreement negotiated last month by House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

If Paul's claim is true, it could significantly complicate congressional leaders' vote-counting on the debt ceiling, particularly for Republican leaders in the House, who have had to wrestle with a number of conservatives that dug in and demanded more cuts in the 2011 spending debate.

"I think the debt ceiling, many of the Republicans are now going to vote against it," Paul said Monday evening on the Fox Business Network. "Mor! e will vote it against it than voted against the spending plans. And we'll see what happens. I'm not sure exactly what the count will be."

Fifteen Senate Republicans voted against the deal in a mid-April vote. In the House, 59 Republicans voted against it.

The margins of opposition could be affected by the concessions that GOP leaders are able to win in exchange for a vote on the debt ceiling. Republicans are set to demand immediate spending cuts in exchange for authorizing an increase in the debt limit, but they also want structural reforms (perhaps a Balanced! Budget Amendment) attached tot he vote.

Republica! ns have maintained that they don't view a default on U.S. debt as an option, though they've also toyed rhetorically with the possibility that they might not allow a vote in the House if the Obama administration doesn't agree to sufficient concessions. The Treasury Department said Monday that a vote to increase the debt limit must be held no later than August 2.