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What is still unknown: What will happen next if the Republicans block this plan. And it is causing anxiety in the Democratic ranks with the full faith and credit of the United States at stake ahead of a possible default next month.
“Yes, absolutely,” said Senator Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois, when asked on Wednesday if she was concerned about the gaze contest between the two sides. “I wish we would stop playing this game and keep working for the American people.”
Democratic leaders say no final decisions have been made on their next steps. But in private discussions this week between senior Democratic officials and among key senators, the prospect of holding a confrontational vote on the eve of the September 30 deadline seems increasingly likely, according to several Democratic sources. And there is little legislative time left on the calendar.
The House and Senate do not return for votes until Monday evening. Over the next week, the House is expected to deal with all spending, likely setting up a Senate showdown the week of September 27, just before federal agencies run out of cash.
The Republicans’ choice, Democrats say, would come down to this: If they block an increase in the national debt limit, they would also risk shutting down the government on October 1 along with the billions in disaster aid for communities hard hit by recent natural disasters. disasters and money for the evacuation effort in Afghanistan.
The feeling among Democrats is that they need to pressure Republicans to finally break with GOP Leader Mitch McConnell. But they would need the support of 10 Republicans to break a blockage, something GOP leaders bluntly say won’t happen if the debt ceiling is attached to the bill.
“I know Senator McConnell is deadly serious. He is not a big prankster,” said Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas and a member of the GOP leadership, on Wednesday. “He knows how this place works. They’re just going to have to make up and admit that they’re going to have to own it.”
Indeed, Republican leaders are adamant that Democrats – who control both houses of Congress and the White House – must fully own the politically toxic vote to raise the national debt limit, which is rising. now at $ 28.8 trillion. The argument: Democrats adopted a $ 1.9 trillion Covid relief plan earlier this year and are shifting trillions of dollars in additional spending to their national agenda.
So, Republicans are demanding that Democrats increase the borrowing limit through a party line budget process known as reconciliation. But that would force Senate Democrats to vote in unison and vote unpopular, while probably consuming two weeks of Senate time – if not more – going through the laborious voting process on the ground. The borrowing limit is expected to be exceeded by mid-October.
Additionally, there are procedural questions about how quickly this can be accomplished given that Democrats are already using the reconciliation process to push through their massive $ 3.5 trillion economic package that says nothing about recovery. of the debt ceiling.
Democrats could potentially propose an amendment to the $ 3.5 trillion bill to raise the debt ceiling. But the move could go against Senate rules, as they initially chose not to include a debt ceiling hike in the budget plan that sets the parameters for the larger bill.
One option: a direct vote up or down to raise the debt ceiling. But that would still require 60 votes – unless Republicans agree to allow him to follow the party’s straight lines at the 51-vote threshold. Since any senator can impose a 60-vote threshold, South Dakota Sen. John Thune, GOP whip, told CNN this week that Republicans would not accept a simple majority vote on the cap. the debt.
Thune said “they’re doing all the other things” like “massive spending and taxes, and through reconciliation – that’s the way to cover the debt ceiling.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Republicans must own the vote as well, highlighting the $ 5.5 trillion debt accumulated under then-President Donald Trump. Schumer told reporters this week that there are “a number of different options” for dealing with the debt limit.
“The White House, President Pelosi and I are discussing it and we think we have to do it. We will do it because it is imperative to do it,” said the New York Democrat.
Justin Goodman, a spokesperson for Schumer, said if there is a flaw: “Senator McConnell will become the first person in history to force a flaw – and every American will know that Senate Republicans are to blame. ”
A spokesperson for McConnell fired back: “Majority leader Schumer knows he has all the tools he needs to raise the debt limit through the same partisan process he uses for his tax madness and his reckless spending. ”
But grassroots Democrats remain in the dark as to how Schumer plans to address the issue in the event of a stalemate. And while they are angry with the GOP’s stance, they are also worried about whether the showdown could shut down the government and cause lasting economic damage.
“I think it is unreasonable to take this position,” said Sen Mazie Hirono, a Democrat from Hawaii, referring to the GOP. “We hope the Republicans will realize their responsibilities.”
Still, Hirono expressed concern over adding the debt measure to the government funding bill if the result could be a damaging government shutdown. Therefore, she said, Democrats may have to find a way to get through it without Republicans.
“If we are considering shutting down the government, which is also totally detrimental to the American public, I think we are going to have to do everything in our power to increase this cap,” she said.
Senator Jon Tester, a Democrat from Montana who worked with the bipartisan group of senators to pass a $ 1.2 trillion infrastructure spending bill last month, said he didn’t know how the debt measure would be passed, but said he believed it would be tied to the interim spending bill, known as the continuing resolution, to maintain government funding after September 30.
“I think it’s going to be attached to CR, but I don’t know,” Tester said.
The tester acknowledged Democrats would take a risk if the government funding bill did not get Republicans’ votes because the debt provision was attached.
“It’s not about the debt anyway,” Tester said. “It’s more about putting on a show in certain parts of their base. It doesn’t make sense to me, man. We weren’t elected here to help sink this country. You wonder why China looking at us, saying we can be in their position. Exactly that kind of shit. “
Jessica Dean and Morgan Rimmer contributed to this report.
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