Republicans Reject Mitch McConnell's Plan To Raise the Debt Ceiling

Several Republicans have expressed opposition to a plan that would link raising the federal debt ceiling with the the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which is usually considered a must-pass bill.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has been in talks with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in the hopes of reaching an agreement that would allow Democrats to raise the debt limit without Republican votes.

The novel proposal could see a debt limit extension included in the NDAA or linked to it by the House of Representatives, but some prominent Republicans expressed concerns about the idea on Monday.

Congressional Democrats are considering three possible solutions:

  • Pass a stand-alone piece of legislation that would allow the Senate to raise the debt ceiling by a majority of 51 votes in a one-time action. This would allow Republicans not to vote for the debt limit rise and would overcome the Senate filibuster; however, at least 10 GOP senators would have to vote to allow the expedited process.
  • Alternatively, a measure to raise the debt ceiling could be included in the NDAA.
  • A third option would see the House create a rule that would allow the one-time process to be added to the NDAA after it passed in the House and before it is considered by the Senate.

McConnell reportedly favors making a deal that allows Democrats to raise the debt ceiling on their own through the one-time mechanism and avoiding a sovereign debt default.

Any of the three proposals will need 60 votes to pass in the Senate and thus require 10 Republican votes. GOP senators were critical of linking the debt ceiling to NDAA in remarks on Monday.

Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) told CNN: "I think it confuses the message."

"So if I vote for the NDAA, people are gonna say I voted to raise the debt limit? I'm not for that," Cornyn said.

Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) tweeted: "A Frankenstein bill to circumvent cloture would neuter the Senate. IT IS AKIN TO 'NUKING THE FILIBUSTER!'"

Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) said she was "Not happy about it."

"I think that sets a bad precedent," she said. "It might be able to pass, but it's something we all need to talk about, and I just don't think we should be operating like this."

Senator James Lankford (R-OK) said linking the NDAA and the debt ceiling was a "terrible idea."

"We've been pretty clear that we're not actually going to be a part of actually helping them [Democrats] with adding trillions of additional debt that we had no part of," Lankford said.

"That's been a pretty clear statement from the beginning on this, and it should continue to be that," he said.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy also ruled out linking the debt ceiling to the defense bill in a tweet on Monday.

"Funding our troops through the NDAA should in no way, shape, or form be tied to the debt limit in process or substance," McCarthy wrote.

Republican votes may be needed to pass the NDAA in the House as some progressive Democrats may vote against the bill.

The Treasury Department estimates that the federal government will reach the debt limit by December 15. If the limit is not raised, the U.S. risks defaulting on its national debt.

That default could come between December 21 and January 28, based on the most recent estimate from the Bipartisan Policy Center. A default would likely have a catastrophic effect on the U.S. and world economies.

Mitch McConnell Speaks on Capitol Hill
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on October 5, 2021. McConnell has been in talks with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to raise the debt ceiling. JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images

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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Darragh Roche is a U.S. News Reporter based in Limerick, Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. politics. He has ... Read more

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