{"id":44566,"date":"2023-01-20T11:34:29","date_gmt":"2023-01-20T11:34:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/mccarthy-tries-to-get-out-of-his-box-on-debt-ceiling\/"},"modified":"2023-01-20T11:34:29","modified_gmt":"2023-01-20T11:34:29","slug":"mccarthy-tries-to-get-out-of-his-box-on-debt-ceiling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/mccarthy-tries-to-get-out-of-his-box-on-debt-ceiling\/","title":{"rendered":"McCarthy tries to get out of his box on debt ceiling\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> \n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is pressing for Democrats to come to the bargaining table and begin negotiations to address the nation\u2019s debt limit, as\u00a0he faces pressures within his\u00a0party to make good on significant fiscal reform.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>McCarthy called on the White House to start discussions this week. But as both sides gear up for the fight over the country\u2019s borrowing limit, the GOP leader is getting the cold shoulder from Democrats, who have characterized ideas floated on the other side as nonstarters.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cRepublicans are creating a crisis that need not exist,\u201d Rep. Brendan Boyle (Pa.), top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, said on Thursday, while decrying what he called \u201cpolitical games.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The impasse has heightened public concern in recent days, particularly as the Treasury Department has\u00a0begun what\u00a0it calls \u201cextraordinary measures\u201d to keep the U.S. government from defaulting on its debt.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The standoff comes as House Republicans have ramped up\u00a0calls to tie spending cuts to any bill raising or suspending the debt limit \u2014 legislation that caps how much outstanding national debt the government can hold to fulfill its financial duties.\u00a0Democrats, by contrast, have instead insisted on a clean bill to address the debt ceiling.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is essential for Congress to recognize that dealing with the debt ceiling is their constitutional responsibility,\u201d White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said this week, calling for action to confront the debt limit \u201cwithout conditions.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Democrats could certainly shift from demanding a clean bill, as lawmakers and the country face a time crunch to handle the matter in the months ahead. But it\u2019s an approach that even GOP strategists say could be effective for the party, particularly as McCarthy works to find a plan his conference can get behind.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Democrats are trying to find out if Republicans can come up with a unified position, and their general assumption is they won\u2019t be able to,\u201d said Republican strategist John Feehery, who is also a columnist for The Hill.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019ll make it easier for them to kind of continue with their posture of, \u2018We\u2019re not going to negotiate,\u2019 which is not particularly defensible,\u201d Feehery said. \u201cBut Republicans can\u2019t come up with a unified position, it seems like it\u2019s a pretty smart strategy from their perspective.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The nation\u2019s debt climbed to more than $31.4 trillion this week, federal financial data shows, crossing the threshold set by Congress when it last raised the nation\u2019s borrowing limit more than a year ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s unclear how long the Treasury Department will be able to utilize the measures to prevent what would be an unprecedented default, but Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told leaders on Thursday that a \u201cdebt issuance suspension period\u201d would last through June 5.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>That timeline puts a\u00a0squeeze\u00a0on Congress to strike a deal to stave off a default.\u00a0Strategists say McCarthy and Republicans also face\u00a0more\u00a0pressure to begin to come up with clearer goals for the party to work toward in debt limit talks.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>GOP divisions were on display earlier this month when it took a historic 15 rounds of votes in the lower chamber for Republicans to elect McCarthy as Speaker \u2014 but only after he agreed to a list of concessions from detractors in his party to win their support.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRepublicans are off to a clumsy start obviously and suggesting to the American people that they can competently run government,\u201d GOP strategist Rob Stutzman said on Thursday.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>But that critical test earlier this month, Stutzman said, is evidence of the GOP leader\u2019s negotiation skills.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can quibble with what he gave away in terms of like seats on oversight, but he negotiated all that, and he\u2019s holding this thing together with baling wire and bubble gum,\u201d Stutzman said. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t know that anyone else could have effectively done that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But the longer it takes Republicans to unite behind a plan to address the borrowing limit, t and other strategists warn the party\u00a0runs\u00a0the risk of bad optics, absent firm proposals that can win the\u00a0GOP conference\u2019s support.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr5_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cRepublicans need to have a very consistent clear message of what they\u2019re trying to accomplish,\u201d GOP strategist Dave Carney said on Thursday. \u201cStopping the budget ceiling, raising the debt limit for no other than political reasons, is terrible, and they won\u2019t sustain the heat.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Many have drawn similarities between the current stalemate and the debt limit standoff in 2011, when a GOP-led House wrestled with a Democrat-led Senate and the Obama administration\u00a0to secure concessions on spending.<\/p>\n<p>The messy\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2011\/POLITICS\/07\/25\/debt.talks.timeline\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\">months-long impass<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2011\/POLITICS\/07\/25\/debt.talks.timeline\/index.html\">e\u00a0eventually ended<\/a> in Republicans securing a\u00a0deal\u00a0to raise the debt limit that was also aimed at drawing down spending\u00a0significantly\u00a0in the following 10 years. However, the dragged-out fight, which experts say pushed the nation to the edge of default, also led to S&amp;P downgrading the nation\u2019s credit rating in a historic first.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr6_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Despite the similarities,\u00a0then-Speaker\u00a0John\u00a0Boehner\u00a0(R-Ohio)\u00a0had a noticeable advantage over McCarthy, with\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/history.house.gov\/Congressional-Overview\/Profiles\/112th\/\" target=\"_blank\">more than 240 Republicans<\/a>\u00a0in the lower chamber\u2019s ranks at the time \u2014 roughly 20 more than in the current Congress, where McCarthy can only afford to lose a handful of votes in his conference to pass more party-line bills.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>That doesn\u2019t mean Boehner also didn\u2019t struggle to unify his party on a solution to tacking the debt limit, strategists note, as he faced obstacles to satisfy the demands of conservatives calling for more fiscal reform.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Just as before, Republicans are also finding themselves navigating familiar terrain in proposals to tackle the nation\u2019s climbing debt, with similar political landmines like potential changes to entitlement programs \u2014 which eat up a chunk of the annual budget \u2014 and cutting discretionary spending.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr7_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Some Republicans have raised the prospect of leveraging the debt limit to secure potential changes to programs like Social Security and Medicare in recent months. Both programs are staring down insolvency in the coming years\u00a0\u2014\u00a0and were ranked in reporting from the Treasury as <a href=\"https:\/\/fiscaldata.treasury.gov\/americas-finance-guide\/federal-spending\/#the-difference-between-mandatory-discretionary-and-supplemental-spending\">number one and five on its\u00a0l<\/a><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/fiscaldata.treasury.gov\/americas-finance-guide\/federal-spending\/#the-difference-between-mandatory-discretionary-and-supplemental-spending\" target=\"_blank\">ist<\/a>\u00a0of the top 10 categories and agencies for federal spending in the previous fiscal year, respectively.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But other Republicans\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/healthcare\/3809592-gop-divisions-over-social-security-medicare-cuts-forecast-tough-fights-ahead\/\" target=\"_blank\">have been wa<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/healthcare\/3809592-gop-divisions-over-social-security-medicare-cuts-forecast-tough-fights-ahead\/\">ry\u00a0of linking<\/a> the debt limit fight to reforms to either of the popular programs.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat we have been very clear about is, we\u2019re not going to touch the benefits that are going to people relying on the benefits under Social Security and Medicare,\u201d Rep. Chip Roy (Texas), among the roughly 20 Republicans who had opposed McCarthy\u2019s bid, said during a CNN appearance earlier this month.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As part of the concessions McCarthy struck with Roy and other GOP detractors to secure the Speaker\u2019s gavel, lawmakers say the leader also agreed to cap discretionary spending at fiscal 2022 levels.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, there are\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/defense\/3807328-gop-battles-with-itself-over-possibility-of-defense-cuts\/\" target=\"_blank\">con<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/defense\/3807328-gop-battles-with-itself-over-possibility-of-defense-cuts\/\">cerns\u00a0in the conference<\/a>\u00a0over where defense funding, which accounts for a bulk of the annual discretionary spending that Congress hashes out in the yearly appropriations process, will fit in talks.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In response to reports of potential cuts on the defense side, Republican defense hawks reiterated strong support for Pentagon funding.\u00a0At the same time,\u00a0McCarthy\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/house\/3814551-mccarthy-weighs-in-on-defense-spending-cuts-amid-gop-divisions\/\" target=\"_blank\">pus<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/house\/3814551-mccarthy-weighs-in-on-defense-spending-cuts-amid-gop-divisions\/\">hed back\u00a0on estimates<\/a> that the defense side could see cuts as high as $75 billion in recent days.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, McCarthy has also signaled some support for certain cuts in tax dollars for defense, as he looks for ways to draw down spending to appeal to the different factions in his conference.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"thehill-promo-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/morning-report\/3820830-the-hills-morning-report-us-hits-debt-limit-now-what\/\" class=\"thehill-promo-link__link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n\t\tThe Hill\u2019s Morning Report \u2014 US hits debt limit \u2014 now what?\t<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/energy-environment\/3819861-states-see-lithium-rush-for-evs-as-environmentalists-urge-caution\/\" class=\"thehill-promo-link__link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n\t\tStates see lithium rush for EVs as environmentalists urge caution\t<\/a><br \/>\n\t<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cDoes defense getting more than $800 billion, are there areas that I think they could be more efficient in? Yeah. Eliminate all the money spent on \u2018wokeism.\u2019 Eliminate all the money that they\u2019re trying to find different fuels and they\u2019re worried about the environment to go through,\u201d McCarthy said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While that thinking is likely to meet a cool reception\u00a0in the Democratic-led Senate, it comes as the Republican leader tries to balance the\u00a0potentially\u00a0conflicting demands in his conference as he navigates a narrow GOP House\u00a0majority.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s evidence he knows how to negotiate,\u201d Stutzman said of McCarthy. But, he added, \u201chis problem\u2019s been he\u2019s had to negotiate with too many people just by circumstance.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/__i\/rss\/rd\/articles\/CBMiYGh0dHBzOi8vdGhlaGlsbC5jb20vaG9tZW5ld3MvaG91c2UvMzgyMDU5OS1tY2NhcnRoeS10cmllcy10by1nZXQtb3V0LW9mLWhpcy1ib3gtb24tZGVidC1jZWlsaW5nL9IBZGh0dHBzOi8vdGhlaGlsbC5jb20vaG9tZW5ld3MvaG91c2UvMzgyMDU5OS1tY2NhcnRoeS10cmllcy10by1nZXQtb3V0LW9mLWhpcy1ib3gtb24tZGVidC1jZWlsaW5nL2FtcC8?oc=5\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is pressing for Democrats to come to the bargaining table and begin negotiations to address the nation\u2019s debt limit, as\u00a0he faces pressures within his\u00a0party to make good on significant fiscal reform.\u00a0\u00a0 McCarthy called on the White House to start discussions this week. But as both sides gear up for the &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44567,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[161],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44566"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44566"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44566\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}