(TheRedWire.com) – In September and October, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Republicans stated they wouldn’t help Democrats increase the debt ceiling. If the Left intended to pass its climate change, budget-busting partisan Build Back Better bill, McConnell said they could include raising the debt level in reconciliation and pass the bill without Republicans. The Democrats refused, and ultimately McConnell threw them a lifeline. The GOP helped Democrats pass a short-term debt ceiling bill through early to mid-December. McConnell told them to get their act together because the GOP wouldn’t do it again.
Close allies say they’ve been given virtually no insight into the talks with Schumer, with the two leaders having a high-profile meeting before Thanksgiving before going to ground on their negotiations since then. https://t.co/8sQjF9lKvx
— The Hill (@thehill) December 2, 2021
The debt ceiling deadline is looming once again. If Congress doesn’t extend it, the US government could become insolvent in a matter of weeks. It appears McConnell may be backing off his original threats.
Perhaps there’s a good reason. If so, no one but McConnell knows what it is this time. The Senate Minority is secretly negotiating with Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to increase the debt ceiling. While he’s talking with the Democratic leader, McConnell isn’t talking to anyone in the Republican Party.
One Senior GOP Senator said McConnell and Schumer are working it out, and the GOP shouldn’t worry about it. During a weekly closed-door luncheon with GOP Senators, McConnell reportedly said nothing about the debt ceiling and was testy about the issue before reporters. The Senate Republican leader would only say the US government would not default and acknowledged the behind-the-scenes conversation with Schumer.
Stay tuned. There’s bound to be an announcement of some kind sooner or later.
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