This could force the House into the hands of either one or the other group. A big chunk of the money is going towards health benefits for members of Congress and their staffs, which could become more expensive as a result. “A lot of members, particularly those in the GOP caucus, are very reluctant to support the government funding bill because they're concerned about what's going to happen on health care,” said one GOP member, who requested anonymity to speak candidly about the private health insurance system. “It's hard to see how this ends up playing out well, politically, for Republicans. It doesn't look like they're getting anything from it in return.” GOP members are also concerned about funding to help pay for disaster assistance, an issue that members will be discussing in committee markups. There's a bit of irony in that, too, since Democrats had originally wanted to make more funding available to repair damage from hurricanes Harvey and Irma in Texas and Florida. It was a major policy fight in the 115th Congress, when the Republicans pushed back. But some Democrats believe that the damage from the storms are one reason why they'll be re-elected. Cantor suggested that the disaster money be separated from the rest of the deal. “I personally will not support it unless they do it because they're worried about the disaster relief component.” Cantor hinted that one possible reason for his reluctance is that the Republicans in the House were never part of the deal in the first place. “I’m not part of the [bill], and so far I’m pretty displeased,” he said. A spokesperson for Cantor told The Hill on Thursday that he is in the process of reviewing the language of the proposed bill. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has kept the rank and file in the dark. “I’m not going to talk to you about it now. The only people in this room that know [about the deal] are members that have taken the call from the House Republican Conference,” McCarthy said in an interview with reporters Tuesday after The Hill asked a question about the details of the legislation. Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), chairman of the House Rules Committee, said there have been conversations between leadership and conservatives about the debt limit bill, but he wasn't sure where things stand. “I think we're trying to figure out a solution that is agreeable to the majority of the conference, because I think there are people on both sides of the aisle that are not comfortable with a number of aspects of this deal,” he said. One senior Democratic aide acknowledged that “we are trying to get this thing done and not in our back pocket.” Some members in the House don’t see a reason for the bill to be controversial. They may not feel a need to vote against it. “It's being presented as a matter of ‘This is what they've given us; we'll take it,’” the Democratic aide said. Even if the bill makes it through the House, though, there are a number of additional layers that stand in the way of a deal. McConnell and his GOP colleagues on the Senate side would likely need to agree to the agreement. Then they would also have to get their members to support it. If they win on that, the deal would go before President Trump. Trump would likely have to sign the legislation before it could become law. Then there is the question of whether McConnell will put the bill on the Senate floor and risk the vote potentially breaking down. It might be a good strategic move to instead keep it to himself and let it sit, as the idea that the bill would fail under its own weight may have some merit in the end. McConnell is a shrewd politician, though, and has shown a willingness to cut deals on difficult issues. It is possible that he is confident that he can muster enough votes. The fact that even Republicans in the House have struggled with raising the debt ceiling for months — some of whom were involved in the negotiations on the bill — might provide some reassurance. The issue could also be pushed until December, so that Trump will have additional time to discuss the issue with his allies before voting. The White House has been very careful to avoid weighing in publicly on a deal so far. Democrats will also still have to weigh in. There has been some talk that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) could make a deal that included an extension of the debt limit that wouldn’t last beyond 2020, a deadline she was instrumental in creating. But it is not clear what the terms of a deal might look like, or if Pelosi has enough clout to push one through. It may well be that Trump can put the issue behind him by the time he leaves office. The Memo is a reported column by Niall Stanage, primarily focused on Donald Trump’s presidency.