In a move that stunned Washington, President-elect Donald Trump is now urging Congress to eliminate the debt ceiling, dramatically disrupting negotiations between lawmakers. at an impasse on federal spending and government funding, which is set to expire at the end of this week.
While some on Capitol Hill are balking at Trump's latest demand, the president-elect was adamant Thursday. He said he stands by his position that lawmakers should oppose any sweeping spending measure that includes Democrats' “traps” and must eliminate the debt ceiling before they take office next year.
“Number one, the debt ceiling should be completely gutted,” Trump said in a phone interview. “Number two, a lot of different things that they thought they would get [in a recently proposed spending deal] Now 100% will be thrown out. And we will see what happens. We'll see if we have a shutdown during the Biden administration. “But if it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen during Biden, not Trump.”
Trump's comments come a day after he sent negotiators on both sides back to the drawing board ahead of the government funding expiration at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday. called Called a bipartisan spending deal “ridiculous and exceptionally expensive” and said that any legislation to increase funding of the federal government must also include a plan to “eliminate or raise” the debt ceiling.
Still, Trump, who built a decades-long business career as a negotiator and dealmaker, appeared to leave room for House Speaker Mike Johnson and other top Republicans to build consensus on new options they would find adequate.
When Trump was asked how he would like to see the impasse end, he responded, “It's going to end in a lot of ways, which would be great.”
Trump said discussions were ongoing and it was too early for him to provide further details on what the outline of the final agreement should be.
“We'll see,” Trump said. “it's too early.”
But Trump said he would continue to keep a close eye on how Democrats want to strike any revised deal and expressed dismay at how Democratic provisions were in the initial bipartisan agreement.
He said, “We caught them trying to set a trap. And I wasn't going to stand for it.” “There is no trap set by the radical left, the lunatic Democrats.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a billionaire who spent nearly $300 million to support Trump and other Republican candidates in the November elections, also protested The initial bipartisan spending deal, which he called “terrible”. When Johnson canceled it, Musk wrote on Twitter, “The voice of the people has won!”
Trump is focused on the debt ceiling, which limits the federal government's authority to borrow, as he faces a confrontation over the issue during the first year of his upcoming term. Several people close to Trump say that possibility has attracted his attention because he wants to spend his time and political capital on other issues next year and would prefer Congress to focus on it now.
While the current limit on federal borrowing is suspended until Jan. 1, 2025, the Treasury Department will be able to take steps to avoid default for a few months into the next year. Still, if the debt ceiling is not raised or is ignored by Congress, the government could face a serious fiscal default sometime early next year.
When asked Thursday about Trump's call to address the debt ceiling, the House Democratic leader, Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, said, “The debt-ceiling issue and discussion is premature.”
