Tag: debt ceiling

Pelosi rejects short-term debt ceiling hike as budget talks extend

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Monday night turned aside the notion of a short-term debt ceiling hike as she continues negotiating on a broader budget deal with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

After days of hashing out their positions over the phone, Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Mnuchin spoke again Monday night, with plans to talk on Tuesday, according to a Pelosi aide.

“We shall see,” Pelosi said when asked about the possibility of striking a sweeping two-year agreement before the August recess that lifts the budget caps and the debt limit.

View the complete July 15 article by Caitlin Emma on the Politico website here.

High anxiety hits Senate over raising debt ceiling

The Hill logoSenators are growing anxious that they might have to vote to raise the nation’s debt ceiling in a matter of weeks given new estimates that the government could hit its borrowing limit earlier than expected.

The debt limit was exceeded earlier this year, and the Treasury Department is now taking steps known as “extraordinary measures” to prevent the government from going over its borrowing limit.

Lawmakers had hoped they would be able to avoid the politically painful vote to raise the debt ceiling until the fall — and that it could be packaged with other legislation to fund the government and set budget caps on spending.

View the complete July 10 article by Jordain Carney on The Hill website here.

Paul Ryan whines about Democrats maybe doing what he did for years

The following article by Josh Israel was posted on the ThinkProgress website September 6, 2017:

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) expressed outrage Wednesday at the notion that Democrats would attempt to protect hundreds of thousands of DACA beneficiaries in an upcoming vote on the debt ceiling, warning that they should not “play politics” as the nation deals with the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey and prepares for Hurricane Irma.  But while he called such an effort “ridiculous and disgraceful,” his own record stands in sharp contrast to his rhetoric.

At a press conference, Ryan was asked about reports that Democrats would seek a three-month debt limit increase and might attempt to attach protections for children of undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as minors (a provision that President Trump demanded Congress consider). Continue reading “Paul Ryan whines about Democrats maybe doing what he did for years”

Trump’s Relationship with Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell Might Just Have Hit Rock Bottom

The following article by Jefferson Morley was posted on the AlterNet website September 7, 2017:

The president dumps the GOP for a fling with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi.

Credit: Business Insider

With the election of Donald Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan made a Faustian bargain. They embraced Trump—an impulsive and ignorant man, filled with racial animus—with the hope they could ride his popularity with conservative voters to enact their agenda of tax cuts and deregulation.

Their corruption caught up with them on Wednesday. Trump humiliated the Republican leaders by siding with their Democratic counterparts Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. In a White House meeting, Trump blindsided his allies and endorsed the Democrats’ proposal for hurricane relief and raising the debt ceiling. Continue reading “Trump’s Relationship with Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell Might Just Have Hit Rock Bottom”

Congress will have 12 working days to prevent a debt default and keep the government open.

The following article by Kelsey Snell filling in for James Hohmann with Breanne Deppisch and Joanie Greve was posted on the Washington Post website August 11, 2017:

THE BIG IDEA today is by Kelsey Snell. James will be back on Monday.

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have a lot to do when Congress returns next month. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

August is supposed to be a time when Washington recharges, relaxes and refreshes. But just beyond that happy hour cocktail or beach blanket is a looming fiscal battle over funding the government and raising the debt limit.

Exciting, right? When Congress returns in September the House will have just 12 legislative days to raise the federal borrowing limit to avoid default — and the same amount of time to approve a spending deal to avert a government shutdown. Those things alone would make for a hefty lift under even the best political circumstances. But the high-stakes deadlines comes as GOP lawmakers are still bruised and angry over the dramatic failure of their most recent push to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Continue reading “Congress will have 12 working days to prevent a debt default and keep the government open.”

Steven Mnuchin, Trump’s treasury secretary, is hurtling toward his first fiasco

The following article by Damian Paletta was posted on the Washington Post website July 17, 2017:

President Donald Trump walks with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to The White House after signing Executive Orders at the Treasury Building on April 21. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)

Shortly before he was sworn in as treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin spoke with his predecessor to get some advice.

Pay attention to the debt problems in Puerto Rico, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew warned Mnuchin, and remember that China’s currency issues are more complex than the incoming president, Donald Trump, had suggested during the campaign, according to two people briefed on the exchange who spoke on the condition of anonymity to reveal private discussions.

And in pointed remarks, Lew told Mnuchin to take the debt ceiling seriously — or face a potential financial crisis.

Months later, Mnuchin is hurtling toward his first fiasco, unable to get Congress, let alone his colleagues in the Trump administration, on board with a strategy to raise the federal limit on governmental borrowing. Continue reading “Steven Mnuchin, Trump’s treasury secretary, is hurtling toward his first fiasco”