Democrats Balk At Donald Trump’s Surprise New Demand As Government Shutdown Looms | EUROtoday

WASHINGTON ― House Democratic chief Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Thursday mentioned “hard pass” on President-elect Donald Trump’s suggestion that Congress eliminate the debt ceiling as a part of a authorities funding invoice.

“GOP extremists want House Democrats to raise the debt ceiling so that House Republicans can lower the amount of your Social Security check,” Jeffries wrote on social media. “Hard pass.”

The assertion from Jeffries suggests Democrats are in no temper to assist House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) out of the mess he created by apparently abandoning a authorities funding invoice he finalized with Democrats this week. Absent a deal, the federal government will partially shut down at midnight on Friday.

At a press convention, Jeffries mentioned Congress can keep away from a shutdown if Republicans “stick with the bipartisan agreement that they themselves negotiated.”

Jeffries declined to rule out finally supporting a slimmed-down model of the settlement, nonetheless. He mentioned the debt ceiling demand was “premature at best.”

The “continuing resolution” settlement Johnson unveiled Tuesday would have saved the federal authorities open till March, supplied billions in catastrophe help and help to farmers, given lawmakers their first elevate in years, and transferred a bit of federal land to the D.C. authorities for the potential improvement of a brand new soccer stadium.

Billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy launched a marketing campaign in opposition to the laws on Wednesday, encouraging Republicans to reject the deal, and by the top of the day Musk, who’s in shut contact with Republicans, together with Johnson, declared it was useless.

Trump then introduced he needed Congress to move the persevering with decision with simply the farm and catastrophe help, and he added a brand new time period: the elimination of the federal authorities’s borrowing restrict, a authorized requirement that Congress authorize the federal authorities to borrow cash that lawmakers already ordered it to borrow in prior laws.

Trump’s debt ceiling demand was shocking ― no one on Capitol Hill had been speaking about it for the reason that subsequent debt ceiling deadline gained’t be till early subsequent yr. And it’s one thing Republicans have lengthy used as leverage to extract concessions from Democrats, resembling spending cuts to authorities packages. Democrats have all the time hated the debt ceiling and lots of have mentioned it ought to be eradicated altogether, similar to Trump urged.

“The Democrats have said they want to get rid of it. If they want to get rid of it, I would lead the charge,” Trump mentioned in a Thursday interview with NBC’s Garrett Haake.

To some progressive Democrats who’ve lengthy pushed for eliminating the debt ceiling, that appeared like welcome information.

“I agree with President-elect Trump that Congress should terminate the debt limit and never again govern by hostage taking,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) mentioned.

“This is a long-term goal, critical to derisking the U.S. economy, and, ironically, protecting us from the dangers of reckless Republican hostage taking,” added Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.).

However, it’s unclear whether or not eliminating the debt ceiling for good is definitely on the desk. House Republicans are reportedly drafting laws that will fund the federal government and lift the debt ceiling for 2 years, making Trump’s life simpler throughout his second time period by serving to move his agenda of tax cuts.

It’s additionally unclear whether or not the invoice contains any spending cuts — as conservative lawmakers have demanded in prior years in change for lifting the debt restrict. Johnson will want their help if he desires to move something in any respect.

“The Republicans lie more often than they accidentally tell the truth, and so I don’t have at this point much clarity that they’re serious about anything,” Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, advised HuffPost. “I wouldn’t take them at their word on anything, and I want to understand if they say suddenly they’re for eliminating that limit, why they wouldn’t just put it right back in place the next day.”

Other House Democrats appeared to agree with Jeffries, saying they may favor eliminating the debt ceiling, however not as a part of this funding deal.

“Where was this demand to raise the debt ceiling during all the negotiations until yesterday?” Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) advised HuffPost. “I agree with getting rid of it altogether, but the timing right now is crucial.”