Latest news with #debtlimit
New York Times
a day ago
- Business
- New York Times
Record Debt Limit Increase Would Break Republican Precedent
For years, Republicans have warned about the government's reliance on borrowed money to pay its bills. That stance has often led to standoffs over raising the nation's borrowing cap, with Republicans insisting that any increase in America's so-called debt limit be paired with spending reductions. This year, the party of fiscal conservatism is poised to discard that philosophy as Republicans prepare to press ahead with domestic policy legislation that combines nearly $4 trillion in tax cuts with a $5 trillion increase to the debt limit. An increase of that magnitude would be a record and underscore the ideological flexibility that many Republicans are willing to embrace when they are in power. G.O.P. lawmakers are prepared to push through the debt limit increase with only votes from their party, through a budget process called reconciliation. That is making it harder for Republicans to maintain their fiscal hawk credibility, prompting some resistance from a few lawmakers who have warned that they may not vote for the bill if it includes such a large increase in the borrowing cap. The national debt is approaching $37 trillion. This week, Senate Republicans unveiled legislation that would raise the debt limit by $5.1 trillion, higher than the $4 trillion increase that House Republicans voted for in their bill last month. Such an increase would likely extend the nation's ability to borrow into 2028. Most economists and analysts welcome a reprieve from debt limit brinkmanship that has destabilized the economy in recent years. However, raising the debt limit along with legislation that is projected to add $3 trillion to the national debt over a decade suggests that lawmakers are overlooking the nation's long-term fiscal problems. 'The most stunning thing is that this massive debt-ceiling increase would be paired with a massive increase in new borrowing, whereas in the past the pressure has been to couple them with debt decreases,' said Maya MacGuineas the president of the bipartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Fox News
12-06-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Elizabeth Warren sides with President Trump on eliminating debt ceiling in NY Times guest essay
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., wrote in a New York Times guest essay on Thursday that President Donald Trump was "right about one thing," as she agreed with the president's call to eliminate the nation's debt ceiling limit. "It is possible that hell has frozen over. President Trump and I agree on something very important: Abolish the debt limit," Warren wrote in the Times opinion piece. "The debt limit is a political tool that allows the minority party to threaten economic collapse, forcing Congress to negotiate its demands. It serves no other function. None. It has no impact on spending, and it doesn't restrain the growth of the national debt." Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" includes a debt ceiling increase of $5 trillion, which is a sore spot for some Republicans, including Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who said it was a "terrible idea." "I've pushed publicly and privately, whether Democrats or Republicans have been in charge, to scrap the debt ceiling permanently. Now, with Mr. Trump's support, our country could finally get rid of this form of brinkmanship that has, for decades, threatened the stability of our economy," the liberal senator said. Trump posted on Truth Social in late May about their shared agreement. "I am very pleased to announce that, after all of these years, I agree with Senator Elizabeth Warren on SOMETHING. The Debt Limit should be entirely scrapped to prevent an Economic catastrophe," he said. "It is too devastating to be put in the hands of political people that may want to use it despite the horrendous effect it could have on our Country and, indirectly, even the World." The Massachusetts senator said keeping the debt ceiling limit felt like political games. "Keeping the debt ceiling around just feeds the political games as one party or the other threatens to block any increase and lets our country default," she wrote. Warren argued in the Times essay that the GOP was trying to pass a wave of "tax handouts for millionaires, billionaires and corporate giants" in the "Big Beautiful Bill," and argued they were taking health insurance away "from 16 million Americans." The Democratic senator stood firm against the bill, writing, "The current 'Big, Beautiful Bill' is morally bankrupt, and I will continue to fight against it." "The president is right on this point: Let's scrap the debt ceiling once and for all," Warren concluded.
New York Times
12-06-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Elizabeth Warren: Trump Is Right About This One Thing
It is possible that hell has frozen over. President Trump and I agree on something very important: Abolish the debt limit. The debt limit is a political tool that allows the minority party to threaten economic collapse, forcing Congress to negotiate its demands. It serves no other function. None. It has no impact on spending, and it doesn't restrain the growth of the national debt. I've pushed publicly and privately, whether Democrats or Republicans have been in charge, to scrap the debt ceiling permanently. Now, with Mr. Trump's support, our country could finally get rid of this form of brinkmanship that has, for decades, threatened the stability of our economy. The debt limit caps the amount of money the U.S. government can borrow. If the government hits the limit before Congress authorizes an increase, the U.S. would default on its debt. That means not making interest payments on U.S. bonds, not paying our military or halting Social Security checks. Chaos in the financial markets could cause millions of Americans to lose their jobs, while the cost of home mortgages and car loans would skyrocket. In short, we would create a self-inflicted financial crisis. Republicans claim they want to reduce the national debt, but their actions tell a different story. For decades, they have used their time in power to slash the taxes paid by wealthy Americans and corporations, forgoing trillions needed to fund our government. President George W. Bush's and Mr. Trump's past tax cuts alone drove up the national debt by an estimated $10 trillion. Then, whenever a Democrat made it into the White House, Republicans threatened to vote against raising the debt ceiling unless Democrats agreed to whatever political demands the Republicans were focused on. Consider the last few times either party regained control of the White House. In 2011, when President Barack Obama was in office, Republicans refused to lift the debt limit until Democrats agreed to $2 trillion in cuts, which cost the economy up to seven million jobs and substantially delayed our recovery from the Great Recession. When Mr. Trump won the election in 2016, Republicans promptly increased the national debt by passing a $1.9 trillion giveaway, largely to rich people and giant corporations. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Daily Mail
04-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Trump reveals the ONLY issue he agrees on with liberal 'Pocahantas' Elizabeth Warren
President Donald Trump has found common ground with a longtime political foe. The president announced Wednesday that he agrees with Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on the issue of raising the debt limit, which is the maximum amount of debt that the federal government is allowed to borrow. 'I am very pleased to announce that, after all of these years, I agree with Senator Elizabeth Warren on SOMETHING,' he wrote on Truth Social. 'The Debt Limit should be entirely scrapped to prevent an Economic catastrophe.' 'It is too devastating to be put in the hands of political people that may want to use it despite the horrendous effect it could have on our Country and, indirectly, even the World.' 'As to Senator Warren's second statement on the $4 Trillion Dollars, I like that also, but it would have to be done over a period of time, as short as possible. Let's get together, Republican and Democrat, and DO THIS!' the president posted on Truth Social. Last month, Warren called upon her congressional colleagues to scrap the debt limit to prevent an 'economic catastrophe.' '@realDonaldTrump and I agree: the debt limit should be scrapped to prevent an economic catastrophe. Let's pass a bipartisan bill and get rid of it forever. But jacking up the debt limit by $4 trillion to fund more tax breaks for billionaires is an outrage,' Warren posted on May 30th. . @realDonaldTrump and I agree: the debt limit should be scrapped to prevent an economic catastrophe. Let's pass a bipartisan bill and get rid of it forever. But jacking up the debt limit by $4 trillion to fund more tax breaks for billionaires is an outrage. — Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) May 30, 2025 Trump's comment came as the president is aiming to steer his spending package through the Senate, after the bill passed the House of Representatives before the Memorial Day recess. Still, Trump and Warren's relationship is far from being all rainbows and butterflies. Trump and Warren have a storied history, much of which revolves around Trump calling Warren 'Pocahontas.' Warren self-identified that she had Native American heritage on applications to Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania. But after being called out by Trump, Warren later released a DNA test in 2018 which revealed that she was only 1/512th Native American. The White House separately is directly trying to slash another top Warren priority in the bill that is snaking its way through the Senate. The Trump administration put out a '50 Wins in the One Big Beautiful Bill' on Tuesday which included reining in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a 'brainchild' of Senator Warren. 'This brainchild of Sen. Elizabeth Warren has long functioned as another woke, weaponized arm of the bureaucracy — with minimal accountability or oversight — that leverages its power against certain industries and individuals disfavored by the so-called 'elites.'' the White House wrote. Trump's comments also came hours before his Wednesday meeting with members of the Senate Finance Committee, which includes Warren in its ranks. The push to raise the debt ceiling in the president's 'big, beautiful bill' has rubbed some Republicans the wrong way, including Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) Earlier this week, Paul told reporters that the proposed debt ceiling increase was a key reason for his opposition to the bill. "We have never raised the debt ceiling without actually meeting that target," Paul noted on Monday. "So you can say it doesn't directly add to the debt, but if you increase the ceiling $5 trillion, you'll meet that. And what it does is it puts it off the back-burner. And then we won't discuss it for a year or two," Paul concluded. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), a member of the Appropriations Committee who is a vocal MAGA ally on Capitol Hill, told Fox News host Will Cain Wednesday afternoon that Warren only wants to raise the debt limit 'because she doesn't believe in it, you cannot spend enough, you got to spend like a drunken sailor.'
Bloomberg
15-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Deputy Treasury Chief Says August Is Earliest for X-Date Worries
Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender said that federal tax receipts have been coming in higher than a year ago, helping bolster confidence that August is the earliest point for concerns about staying within the federal debt limit. 'We're pretty confident, based upon the receipts that came in from primary tax filing season that an August time frame is the earliest that we need to worry about the X-Date,' Faulkender said in a Bloomberg Television interview. The X-Date refers to the point at which the Treasury runs out of cash and special accounting measures to keep within the debt ceiling and still make good on federal obligations on time.
