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In the next couple of months, the debt ceiling is going to become the dominant story in American politics. It is also something that has Trump scared because Republicans control Congress and the White House, but they don’t have the votes to increase the debt ceiling.
For decades, Republican presidents have counted on Democrats to raise the debt ceiling and do the right thing to avoid a default, but all of that looks to be changing.
According to The Washington Post:
As America hurtles once again toward a potential debt crisis, Democrats see an opportunity to turn the tables to cut off Trump’s agenda and take the debt limit off the table in future legislative battles.
…
“The days of Democrats just voting to raise the debt ceiling under a Republican president, they need to be over, period,” Rep. Brendan Boyle (Pennsylvania), the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, told The Post. “We need to make sure that Democratic priorities are met, if we are in any way going to vote to increase the debt ceiling. But at the very least, we need to make sure there’s a permanent resolution to the perennial debt ceiling dysfunction.”
Getting rid of the debt ceiling is not enough of a concession because it would be a giant favor to Trump and the Republicans that would allow them to cut taxes for the wealthy as much as they wanted with no consequences.
It is also not enough to get policy concessions for this year and next.
A default on the debt would derail the Trump presidency. There are at least more than a dozen House Republicans who want a default because they want to stop spending.
Democrats have no responsibility to vote to raise the debt ceiling. Republicans control the Congress and the presidency. The debt ceiling is their problem.
Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries has said that House Democrats won’t vote for anything that paves the way for Trump’s tax cuts, and Republicans haven’t even contacted him to get his thoughts.
All Democrats got for doing the right thing was another Trump presidency.
There is no reward to be had in demoralizing Democrats even more. If Democrats want to show that they are serious about holding Trump accountable, they can start by forcing Republicans to fix their own debt ceiling mess.
How do you feel about Democrats potentially saying no deal on the debt limit? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
