They didn’t like the debt ceiling extension. They don’t trust themselves (congress and senate) to cut spending. Which is stupid and tells you what Trump is fighting against.
A debt ceiling extension is meaningless if spending is cut.
The issue is time. They could probably cut a lot of things given the time to work them all out, but that’s the job that DOGE is supposed to do. It’s a chicken-and-egg problem, and we can’t leave the government shut down for the months that DOGE will require to do their work.
They’re going to have to work out a short-term budget with a reasonable amount of small cuts (whatever they can come up with quickly) and revisit the issue once DOGE comes back with their results. That was always the plan. Anyone who expects a balanced budget right now is dreaming.
If the debt ceiling extension is meaningless when spending is cut, then why even put it in the bill??
And that's baloney.
Thomas Massie was in a position to unilaterally block the Biden-McCarthy deal in the spring of 2023 to suspend the debt ceiling through 2024 as the deciding vote on the measure in the House Rules Committee.
This is a guy who has made a career out of whining about fiscal irresponsibility, and literally walks around with a stupid clock that tracks the federal debt to make his point. But when he was in a position to actually do something about it, he had the fortitude of a wet noodle and caved.
Then there’s no use increasing the debt ceiling. It makes zero sense to raise it. If the three want to cut then a debt increase is unnecessary.
> They didn’t like the debt ceiling extension.
Neither do I. The Dims have been salivating at making this happen so they can spend like drunken sailors. Why are WE lifting the debt ceiling? Is it to get Dim votes? Why is it there if not to allow more spending without consequence?
> They don’t trust themselves (congress and senate) to cut spending. Which is stupid and tells you what Trump is fighting against.
Then why lift the debt ceiling if not to allow more spending? Explain it to me like I’m 5.
> A debt ceiling extension is meaningless if spending is cut.
And a debt ceiling extension is **unnecessary** if spending is cut. So why include it?
First, both bills spent the exact same amount.
Second, even if they spent less, the deficit will still go up as nothing is balanced yet.