Republicans prepare to filibuster debt limit — again
“Democrats have been clear from the start, we’ll do the responsible thing,” Schumer said ahead of the vote. “Republican obstruction on the debt ceiling has been reckless, irresponsible, but nonetheless today Republicans will have an opportunity to get what they’ve been asking for … simply get out of the way and we can agree to skip the filibuster vote and so we can proceed to final passage of this bill.”
With time running short and neither side showing cracks in their resolve, Democrats are mulling a number of off-ramps, including making an exception to the filibuster rules for debt ceiling legislation, known as a carve-out. That would take away Republicans’ ability to block the effort.
Senate Democrats met with White House leaders on Wednesday morning to discuss the approaching debt cliff, among other topics.
“My view is that if Republicans don’t get out of the way on their own, we should have a carve-out on this issue,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, a Democrat on the Budget Committee, after the meeting. “We’re on the precipice now of a cliff and any day now you could have a downgrade in our national credit rating. So time is of the essence.”
Detonating the filibuster to raise the debt ceiling only works if all Democrats are on board, Van Hollen noted. President Joe Biden signaled on Tuesday that a filibuster workaround is up for discussion. But it would require support from the party’s centrists, like Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), who haven’t indicated that they’ll support an approach both parties could weaponize to advance certain policy priorities.
Meanwhile, Democrats insist that they won’t use the budget reconciliation process to raise the debt limit on their own, as Republicans have demanded. Democratic leaders say that reconciliation, or the same special budget maneuver that Democrats are deploying to pass Biden’s massive social spending plans, could prove time-consuming and arduous.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday morning that Democrats have “spent two and a half months doing nothing and now they complain that they’re short on time.” He insisted that the majority party has had ample runway to wrap its head around using reconciliation.
But Democrats emerged from party lunches on Tuesday even more determined to not use the special budget process. Even Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who last week had expressed he was open to using reconciliation, is now shutting the door on the possibility.
“We’re not doing it on reconciliation,” Kaine said. “If we’re going to do it, we’d like Republican help. But we’re not going to do it on reconciliation.”
If Senate Democrats decide to pull the reconciliation rip cord, some Republicans have shown a willingness to ensure the process moves quickly, promising to throw up few GOP roadblocks.
“I don’t anticipate that it will be an elongated exercise,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) said on Tuesday. “I can’t speak for everybody, but I think generally speaking, in light of the time constraints, probably let them do what they should do.”
But Democrats continue to distance themselves from reconciliation as an option, which Republicans could ultimately use as a political cudgel during the midterms next year if the majority party is forced to settle on a new debt limit figure through the process.
After meeting with White House officials on Wednesday morning, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) stressed that, “Senate Democrats stand united on the debt.”
“The Republicans have to allow us this vote tonight and we will own this because they’re afraid to,” she said. “We are governing, and we’re not going to let a bunch of people’s interest rates go up and cause havoc across this country simply because they’re trying to play politics. This is a time to govern.”
