Dems are suddenly squeamish about a debt limit hike

Presented by The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing: An evening recap of the action on Capitol Hill and preview of the day ahead

Dec 19, 2024 View in browser   By Nicholas Wu Presented by The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing With assists from POLITICO’s Congress team Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) said the GOP's decision to renege on a CR deal “makes it virtually impossible” to address the debt limit. | AP THE LATEST: The House is about to vote on a revised continuing resolution and debt-limit extension, with Democrats and conservative Republicans both threatening to tank the deal. The government is set to shut down in just over 36 hours. Follow the action at Inside Congress Live THE CEILING IS THE FLOOR  House Democrats are finding themselves in uncharted waters after President-elect Donald Trump and House Republican leaders proposed a clean debt limit hike, potentially taking a federal default off the table for the near future. The provision embedded in the newly revised continuing resolution tentatively set for a House vote Thursday evening looks a lot like what Democrats wanted Republicans to support when presidents of their own party were calling the tune: It suspends the debt ceiling through Jan. 30, 2027, without any corresponding spending cuts. When Trump first publicly floated addressing the borrowing limit, or eliminating it entirely, on Wednesday evening, it piqued the interest of some Democrats who have long railed against it as nothing more than a potential lure for Republican hostage-taking. “Let's get rid of the debt limit. Let's be done with it,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee. “I agree with President-elect Trump,” declared Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) — words that the liberal icon probably never anticipated saying. But by Thursday evening, when it became clear that Republicans wanted a two-year pause hitched to a stopgap funding package that dropped some of their priorities, they rallied against it. “I’m not simply a no. I’m a hell no,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told his caucus in a closed-door meeting, per three people familiar with his remarks. Withdrawal symptoms: Why the turnabout? As much as Democrats would love to disarm this particular legislative time bomb, they’re not in any mood to negotiate with Republicans after Trump and billionaire ally Elon Musk sabotaged the prior deal to keep the government open and provide billions in disaster and farm relief. “We have a bipartisan, bicameral negotiated deal that we should vote on to keep the government open,” Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) told reporters. Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), the incoming chair of the centrist New Democrat Coalition, said the GOP decision to renege on the initial deal “is so bad that it makes it virtually impossible” to address the debt limit. “The conversation we need to be having is, how much money are we going to bring into this government to pay for the things we want to do, and given how much money we think we can bring in, what are the things that are most important for us to do?” he said. “And that conversation gets usurped by the whole debate around debt limits and hostage-taking.” Back to the drawing board: Jeffries sent a clear signal on his debt-limit position to fellow Democrats in a social media post Thursday morning: “GOP extremists want House Democrats to raise the debt ceiling so that House Republicans can lower the amount of your Social Security check. Hard pass.” Other Democrats quickly fell in line, including some who have long decried brinksmanship over borrowing. “We have at least six months to resolve the debt ceiling. But we only have hours to prevent a government shutdown. Republicans need to honor the agreement they negotiated and stop manufacturing crises that harm hardworking Americans,” top Budget Committee Democrat Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) said in a statement. The widespread Democratic opposition means Thursday’s planned vote — under suspension of the rules, requiring a two-thirds margin — will likely fail. Aside from Democrats, a cadre of conservative House Republicans also appears likely to oppose any attempt to hike or abolish the debt ceiling. That could leave Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson in a familiar spot: negotiating with the other party over what they would want in return for a debt limit hike. So it has been and so might it ever shall be. — Nicholas Wu    A message from The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing: Big Pharma’s patent abuse drives up drug prices and blocks competition – costing patients and the U.S. health care system billions. Patent thickets protect profits, not innovation, and extend monopolies on blockbuster drugs while millions of Americans struggle to afford their medications. This year, the Senate unanimously passed Cornyn-Blumenthal, a bipartisan solution to curb these anti-competitive tactics. Time is running out – Congress must pass Cornyn-Blumenthal and deliver relief to patients before it’s too late. Learn more.   GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Thurs, Dec. 19, where ??? rules the day. RETIREES READY TO GO With the 119th Congress coming to a shambolic end, some outgoing lawmakers said their decisions not to come back next year were being quickly vindicated. “I think the universe is sending me some very positive vibes that it was a good time for me to go,” said retiring Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), adding, “Apparently the universe doesn't want me to leave quite yet.” “This nonsense is disrespectful to the country, to the Congress and those who staff it, and represents yet another embarrassing stain on the American brand around the world,” said outgoing Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) in a text message. “And it all results from the majority not passing appropriations bills — THE FUNDAMENTAL ROLE OF CONGRESS! It’s absurd.” They’re among the nearly four dozen lawmakers who opted to retire or run for another office this cycle as members of Congress headed for the exits, many of whom were fed up with the gridlock and dysfunction of the institution. Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska), who lost her re-election, also said the chaotic end to this Congress made her feel better about not returning next year. — Nicholas Wu    A message from The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing:   WHERE THE SKIES ARE BLUER  House Democrats are starting to use Bluesky, the alternative to Elon Musk’s X, more frequently — especially in light of Musk’s involvement in tanking the year-end spending deal. Jeffries posted his statement criticizing Trump’s debt-limit float to the platform, prompting both reporters and lawmakers to take note of his conspicuous decision. (Jeffries continues to post on Musk’s X, though not that particular message.) “People I talk to have a desire to get to a place where we can have adult conversations with information that is reliable and not being trolled by whether it's foreign actors or the world's richest man,” said Schneider, the Illinois Democrat. “Unfortunately, what Musk has done to what was once Twitter … he has turned it into a cesspool. And I think people are looking for an alternative.” Another prominent Democrat embracing the new platform is Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who posted her statement about losing the Oversight Committee race earlier this week to Bluesky — not to X. — Daniella Diaz and Nicholas Wu  HUDDLE HOTDISH Senators, just like us: Dick Durbin was spotted struggling with the (unnecessarily complicated) digital ordering system at Senate Carryout. We, too, wish we could order straight from the friendly cooks like the good old days. Thom Tillis got unanimous consent for a lengthy standing ovation for Sharon Soderstrom, a fixture of Mitch McConnell’s office for decades — and a fixture of GOP leadership even before McConnell. Robert Garcia is ready for the new Superman movie. Stephanie Bice: not a mayo fan. A VIP possum is headed to Washington, courtesy of Rep.-elect Tim Moore (R-N.C.). QUICK LINKS  The U.S. seized a Russian yacht. Now you’re paying for it, from The Washington Post GOP lawmakers prepare to carry out Gaetz’s revenge, expose harassment settlements, from Olivia Beavers Trump calls for a primary challenger to Chip Roy, from Anthony Adragna   A message from The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing: Big Pharma’s patent abuse drives up drug prices and blocks competition – costing patients and the U.S. health care system billions. Patent thickets protect profits, not innovation, and extend monopolies on blockbuster drugs while millions of Americans struggle to afford their medications. This year, the Senate unanimously passed Cornyn-Blumenthal, a bipartisan solution to curb these anti-competitive tactics. Time is running out – Congress must pass Cornyn-Blumenthal and deliver relief to patients before it’s too late. Learn more.   TRANSITIONS  Steven Giaier will be chief counsel in Sen. John Barrasso’s (R-Wyo.) majority whip office. He most recently was general counsel for House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (D-N.Y.) and is a Kevin McCarthy alum. Former Rep. Filemon Vela (D-Texas) was appointed by Democratic Leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries to co-chair the congressional Commission on the Future of the U.S. Navy alongside Mackenzie Eaglen, who was appointed by Speaker Mike Johnson and GOP Senate Leader Mitch McConnell. Lauren Ziegler is now chief of staff for Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas). She most recently was a legislative affairs specialist for NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and is a Babin alum. TOMORROW IN CONGRESS The House and Senate are ??? FRIDAY AROUND THE HILL ??? TRIVIA WEDNESDAY’S ANSWER: David Casimes was the first to correctly answer that John Tyler was the first president to get married in office. TODAY’S QUESTION, from Nick Wu: How many times has the debt limit been raised since 1960? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Inside Congress. Send your answers to insidecongress@politico.com. GET INSIDE CONGRESS emailed to your phone each evening.   Follow us

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