Breaking

McConnell secures GOP support for new debt strategy - POLITICO
Dec 07, 2021 2 mins, 4 secs

Mitch McConnell believes he’s convinced a skeptical Senate Republican Conference to allow Democrats to more easily raise the debt ceiling, a critical development as the country faces a mid-December debt cliff.

The Senate minority leader spent Tuesday selling his members on a convoluted strategy that would require at least 10 Republicans to approve legislation that would later allow Senate Democrats to raise the debt ceiling by a simple majority vote.

Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who wants Democrats to use the more cumbersome budget reconciliation process to raise the debt ceiling.

Though Republicans would still be facilitating an easier debt ceiling increase for Democrats by carving out an exception to the Senate's supermajority requirement, it’s increasingly likely enough Republicans view it as the least-bad scenario.

He rebuffed efforts Monday to tie a debt ceiling increase to the annual defense bill, but he can live with a separate effort that — once it breaks a GOP filibuster — would allow Democrats to raise the debt ceiling without any GOP help.

“I’m going to support Democrats raising the debt ceiling without Republican votes,” Cornyn said.

“To have Democrats raise the debt ceiling and be held accountable for racking up the debt is my goal.

The legislation released by House leaders, the product of weeks of conversations between McConnell and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, would suspend filibuster rules for a debt ceiling increase for about a month.

But it would require Democrats to raise the debt ceiling to a specific number rather than suspend it for a length of time, such as through the election.

Republicans can tout that as a key concession, while Democrats successfully rebuffed Republicans’ efforts to force them to use the more cumbersome budget reconciliation process to raise the debt ceiling.

The debt increase would likely range from $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion to ensure Congress won't have to address the debt again before November midterms, according to several people familiar with the matter.

Blunt was among 11 Republicans who voted to break a filibuster on raising the debt ceiling in October, an internal debacle for McConnell, who had spent weeks insisting Democrats raise the debt limit via the budget reconciliation process.

If successful, the Senate would then still have to vote to address the debt limit, but the process would make an exception to Senate rules so Democrats would only need 51 votes to do so.

House leaders hoped to vote as soon as Tuesday evening on both the defense bill and the debt limit process

RECENT NEWS

SUBSCRIBE

Get monthly updates and free resources.

CONNECT WITH US

© Copyright 2024 365NEWSX - All RIGHTS RESERVED