McConnell says no Republican will vote to raise debt ceiling



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“I can’t imagine there will be a single Republican vote to raise the debt ceiling after what we’ve been through,” McConnell said in an interview with Punchbowl News on Wednesday.

Democrats could include raising the debt ceiling in their currently debated budget reconciliation bill, multiple sources told CNN. But the most likely scenario is that Democrats could tie the debt ceiling to a fundraising bill to be passed at the end of September, which would force Republicans to decide whether they would want to vote by default and shut down. the government at the same time. . The Treasury Department has several ways to delay the effects of the debt cap until the fall, with the fiscal year ending September 30.

If Democrats included raising the debt ceiling in the reconciliation, lawmakers would have to choose what the new borrowing limit should be in legislation given the special fiscal rules.

The issue is seen as politically treacherous but critical in order to avoid default. Republicans will no doubt use this as a talking point ahead of the 2022 midterms as they attempt to reclaim a majority in both houses of Congress. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina holds a press conference on what he describes as “fiscal madness and reckless spending by Democrats” on Wednesday.

Republicans, however, voted to approve debt ceiling increases under former President Donald Trump, and McConnell does not mention that under his own Senate leadership last year, members approved additional spending of $ 1 , $ 4 trillion to fight the coronavirus and fund the federal government. government.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said last month that unless Congress acts, America could run out of borrowing capacity this summer, even after the federal government took steps to buy gas. extra time.

House Ways and Means chairman Richard Neal, a Democrat from Massachusetts, said last month he wanted to act “as soon as possible” to raise the national debt ceiling.

“I think raising the debt ceiling as soon as possible is a good idea,” Neal said, adding that the length of the extension would be “subject to negotiation.”

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