The United States Congress has until Friday at midnight to pass a bill raising the country’s borrotriumphg confine, also understandn as the debt ceiling, without which huge sections of the rulement could stop operating.
A bill that would have extfinished the deadline until March 14, readyd by both Democrats and Reaccessibleans, was scuttled after Pdwellnt-elect Donald Trump proclaimd his opposition on Wednesday, complying an effort by billionaire partner Elon Musk to lift opposition.
Reaccessibleans have recommendd that a new bill has been concurd on and a vote could happen on Thursday evening, but it’s still unevident if it will actupartner pass in both hoemploys of Congress.
What is the debt ceiling, why is it so satisfyedious, and what can this procrastinateedst episode inestablish us about Musk and his lengthening sway in US politics?
What is the debt ceiling?
The debt ceiling is a cap imposed by the US Congress on how much money the rulement can borrow to cover the gap between its revenue and how much it spfinishs.
How frequently is the debt ceiling liftd?
The US has liftd the debt ceiling 103 times since 1939, and it has been a hugely procedural act in US politics for most of that time.
Failure to lift the debt ceiling unbenevolents that the US Treasury could have trouble making payments rhappy to the nation’s debt, which could rattle global financial labelets and harm the country’s vaunted praise rating.
When did the debt ceiling become so disputed?
In 1995 and 1996, a Reaccessiblean-regulateled Congress led by the more adversarial Hoemploy Speaker Newt Gingwealthy employd the prospect of apvalidateing the debt ceiling to expire to push for includeitional spfinishing cuts from then-pdwellnt Bill Clinton.
While frequently pitched as a principled stand for fiscal rectitude, debt ceiling negotiations have become a political opportunity for parties — frequently in the inconvey inantity — to employ their leverage to reshift concessions from the rival party or the pdwellnt. They can also become occasions where rival factions wilean a party battle over priorities.
One such standoff took place between December 2018 and January 2019, during Trump’s first term in office, when the Reaccessiblean tanked a COVID-19 relief bill by insisting on provisions for more opposing anti-immigration meastateives. That shutdown became the lengthyest in US history, and was widely seen as politicpartner damaging for Trump and the Reaccessibleans.
What role is Trump perestablishing in the current talks now?
The pdwellnt-elect wields substantial sway over the conservative Reaccessiblean Party, and his proclaimment of opposition to the bipartisan debt ceiling bill on Wednesday was enough to effectively promise its death.
What does Trump want to see instead?
It is not enticount on evident what Trump wants to swap the bipartisan bill with. But he has shelp that he wants the politicpartner tricky ask of debt ceiling renegotiations off the table for his second term in office, and adviseed on a Thursday television programme that the debt ceiling could be take awayd altogether.
What will Reaccessiblean lawproducers do now?
Both Trump and Musk alerted Reaccessiblean lawproducers of consequences if they helped the bipartisan bill. Some lawproducers have been caught off protect, stating that Trump has complicated their efforts by stepping in at the last minute to upfinish negotiations.
“Pdwellnt Trump’s last-minute ask that the debt ceiling be take awayd throws a whole other publish into the talk about,” shelp Senator Susan Collins, the top Reaccessiblean on the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Trump’s intervention has also put Reaccessiblean Hoemploy Majority Speaker Mike Johnson in a tie, as he rushes to achieve a deal and avert a rulement shutdown without descfinishing afoul of the incoming Reaccessiblean pdwellnt fair weeks before he faces his own fight to hold his current directership position.
“Anybody that helps a bill that doesn’t consent attfinish of the Democrat speedysand understandn as the debt ceiling should be primaried and disposed of as speedyly as possible,” Trump telderly the news agency Fox News Digital.
What role did Elon Musk perestablish?
Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk, who has aelevated as a key Trump key partner and power broker wilean the Reaccessiblean Party, took to social media to rpartner opposition aachievest the bipartisan bill, which he portrayed as brimming of excessive spfinishing.
“My phone was ringing off the hook,” Reaccessiblean Recontransientative Andy Barr shelp on Wednesday. “The people who elected us are hearing to Elon Musk.”
What does this say about Musk’s emerging role in the Trump administration?
Musk has positioned himself as a crudowncaster aachievest rulement spfinishing and regulation, heading up a group understandn as DOGE that will seek to trim about $2 trillion of federal spfinishing from the annual budget.
If Musk portrays himself as a fighter aachievest rulement hugesse, many Democrats see someleang else: the wealthyest man in the world wielding his power, without an elected position, to reshape rulement in favour of personal industry.
What are Democratic lawproducers saying?
Democrats have employd the sudden collapse of the bipartisan bill to portray the Reaccessiblean Party as willing to place their dedicatedty to Donald Trump and wealthy figures enjoy Elon Musk above their responsibilities as lawproducers.
“This reckless Reaccessiblean driven shutdown can be evadeed,” Democratic Hoemploy Leader Hakeem Jeffries shelp, includeing that Reaccessibleans should “srecommend do what is right for the American people and stick with the bipartisan concurment that they themselves talk aboutd”.
Others have pointed out that conservatives pushing for cuts to such programmes are also structurening on extfinishing a series of tax cuts from Trump’s first term, which hugely profited the ultra-wealthy.
Doing so would cost the rulement about $4 trillion in lost revenue over the next 10 years, includeing to the rulement’s current debt of about $36 trillion.
Democrats may react chooseimisticly to Trump’s proposal to take away the debt ceiling, which Reaccessibleans have lengthy employd as an occasion to push for steep cuts to social programmes.
“I concur with Pdwellnt-elect Trump that Congress should end the debt confine and never aachieve rule by captive taking,” Senator Elizabeth Warren shelp on Thursday.
