Posted on 09/07/2017 1:01:18 AM PDT by iowamark
President Donald Trump forged a surprising deal with Democrats in Congress on Wednesday to extend the U.S. debt limit and provide government funding until Dec. 15, embracing his political adversaries and blindsiding fellow Republicans in a rare bipartisan accord.
Trump, living up to his reputation for unpredictability, met at the White House with congressional leaders from both parties and overruled Republicans and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who wanted a longer-term debt-limit extension rather than the three-month Democratic proposal the president embraced.
“We could have done a one-year deal today,” Mnuchin told reporters aboard Air Force One later in the day en route back to Washington from an event in North Dakota where Trump spoke about taxes.
Mnuchin said Trump chose a short-term deal to keep his options open on possibly raising military funding later this year, suggesting a longer-term government funding deal might have blocked that.
Trump is very focused on military spending, “particularly with what’s going on in North Korea and other parts of the world today,” Mnuchin said. “The president wasn’t willing to give up his need for additional military spending.”
If passed by the Republican-led Congress, the three-month agreement would avert an unprecedented default on U.S. government debt, keep the government funded at the outset of the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 and provide aid to victims of Hurricane Harvey.
“It was a really good moment of some bipartisanship and getting things done,” top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer said.
Less than an hour before the meeting, Republican House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan had called the Democratic proposal that Trump later embraced a “ridiculous and disgraceful” idea that would “play politics with the debt ceiling.”
Even with the three-month extension of the debt limit, a Senate Republican aide told reporters that nothing in the tentative deal would stop the Treasury Department from using its powers to extend the deadline, depending on revenue flow. In the past, the debt limit deadline has been extended for several months under those powers.
‘NEEDED TO COME TOGETHER’
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, overridden by Trump during the meeting, said he would bring the deal to the Senate floor for a vote.
“The president can speak for himself, but his feeling was that we needed to come together, to not create a picture of divisiveness at a time of genuine national crisis,” McConnell told reporters.
The agreement was an uncommon instance of bipartisan compromise since Trump took office in January. Washington has suffered through bitter partisanship that has at times left the U.S. capital dysfunctional under Trump and his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama. Trump had tangled repeatedly with Schumer and top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi.
“We had a very good meeting with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer,” Trump, a wealthy businessman who as a candidate touted his deal-making skills, told reporters aboard Air Force One, without mentioning McConnell or Ryan, with whom he has had fraught relations.
“We agreed to a three-month extension on debt ceiling, which they consider to be sacred, very important. Always we’ll agree on debt ceiling, automatically because of the importance of it,” Trump said.
Conservative groups were aghast, accusing Trump of caving in to the Democrats rather than insisting on spending cuts to accompany the debt ceiling increase, and some hard-line Republicans expressed opposition to it.
Republican leaders and Mnuchin pushed in the meeting for an 18-month debt limit hike, then floated six months, but Pelosi and Schumer held firm to their three-month proposal and Trump sided with them, according to people familiar with the meeting.
The party in power, in this case Republicans, often argues for the longest debt limit increase as possible for two reasons. First, it protects members of Congress from casting multiple votes on the politically unpopular legislation over a short period of time, especially in the run-up to the 2018 congressional elections. Second, it helps stabilize markets.
For minority Democrats, whose votes are needed to pass debt ceiling increases, they could potentially use the debt limit vote later in the year as leverage to win concessions on a tax overhaul package that Trump badly wants to advance.
Even though Republicans control the White House and both chambers of Congress, Trump has yet to win passage of any major legislation, with Democrats typically united against him.
The House on Wednesday approved roughly $8 billion in initial emergency aid for relief and rebuilding after Hurricane Harvey, which tore into Texas on Aug. 25, with the measure now going to the Senate.
“Our No. 1 priority was getting funding for Harvey,” Mnuchin said. “To get the funding for Harvey, we needed to extend the debt limit.”
STOCKS, DOLLAR RISE
U.S. shares rose and the dollar gained against the safe-haven Japanese yen as word of the deal helped mitigate investor concerns about North Korea and a major hurricane barreling toward Florida. The news also lifted the yield on benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes US10YT=RR after it had fallen to a near 10-month low at 2.054 percent.
The Treasury Department has said the ceiling must be raised in the next few weeks. If not, the government would be unable to borrow more money or pay its bills, including its debt payments. That could hurt the U.S. credit rating, cause financial turmoil, harm the economy and possibly trigger a recession.
Representative Kevin Cramer, a Republican from North Dakota, was aboard Air Force One when he heard about the short-term deal. He told reporters on the plane: “I will tell you that I gasped when I heard it.”
He said the deal would be a “tough sell” for House Republicans but that some would “warm up to the idea” when they learned more about it.
http://www.npr.org/2017/09/06/548935056/trump-sides-with-democrats-in-deal-on-storm-relief-and-fiscal-deadlines
“Trump Sides With Democrats In Deal On Storm Relief And Fiscal Deadlines”
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/06/schumer-and-pelosi-offer-support-for-harvey-aid-and-debt-limit-boost-242376
“Trump sides with Democrats in debt limit, funding, Harvey”
http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/06/opinions/pelosi-schumer-and-art-of-the-steal-begala/index.html
“Begala: Why Trump caved to Pelosi and Schumer”
There’s a lot to say about this.
Raising the debt ceiling has fell on Ryan and McConnell, Boehner and so on in recent years in Congress. The GOP has had to do the dirty work of working with Obama to keep the nation going deeper into the hole.
Now the Democrats get to carry water for what the Uniparty wants done as in the banking and corporate interests that fund the major political parties.
Pelosi and Schumer will do the dirty work with President Trump.
Uniparty bipartisanship in reverse so to speak.
The business as usual system rolls along.
I don’t hate Donald Trump, heck Sarah Palin governed Alaska with Democrats to get around the RINO’s in her state.
She was forced to resign because the Democrats joined the RINO’s in hating her after she was the VP candidate in 2008.
Deeper debt is a dirty thing, but all parties are responsible and its a reminder we need continuous house cleaning in Washington.
It starts with the GOP runoff in Alabama and a Roy Moore victory on September 26th.
Whatever happened to the penny plan Ryan was pushing when he was running for VP? Was that like everything else he does, all talk and run away when the action starts?
The Republican leadership wanted a one-year debt ceiling raise and one-year continuing resolution to fund the government.
With a Republican majority in the Senate and House, and the White House, WHY must we continue funding the government endlessly through continuing resolutions?
Why can’t we now go back to the days when Congress did individual appropriations bills with spending tailored to the needs of the departments and agencies?
Because... see tag line
I sure hope President Trump understands that if he doesn’t pull the rug out from under the democrats then they will surely pull the rug out from under him. It’s now down to who’s the best at sabotaging who.
I’m sure he doesn’t trust them for a millisecond and why the hell should he?
“I don’t hate Donald Trump...”
Do you own, or have you ever owned a bicycle lock?
Harvey, Irma and Jose.
Many Deplorables have followed President Trump since the beginning of the campaign. We sincerely believe that he is a man who cares about people and wants to improve everyone's lives. Since he's been in office, establishment 'pubs have continued to play their stupid narcissistic games instead of solving the nation's problems.
Did they seriously think President Trump wouldn't do whatever it took when funding for these disasters is in jeopardy?
The RNC is a satellite office of the DNC.
Seems like the democrats are getting things done in DC while the Republicans are cowering in the corner waiting for Trump to get indicted.
No need for “bundling”, Congress could have produced a clean relief bill. Why no push for that?
I honestly believe McConnell and Ryan have no idea what to do or how to actually lead. Add to this they are corrupt and power hungry.
They have spent so many years in Congress, many underneath the Dems, and have found a low profile and comfortable way to make tons of cash and obtain that power. They do not want to expend any energy to do their duty because it might put a damper on their graft and actually make them stand up for something.
Since they only stand for themselves and their wealthy donors they have absolutely no incentive to do anything.
It will NEVER be about cutting spending in DC so that it leaves a mark on the debt.
Trump just took way the RINOcrat's lever.
With 3 huge natural disasters back to back, #4 Jose forming, FEMA is broke. for the fiscal year, not to mention smaller ones that don’t make the LSM radar. up More action on border, ICE RAIDS, more troops for Afghanistan.
Nut job from NK breathing down on the world.
You have to pay Military, VA, and other necessary agencies. You can bet President Trump is going to cut some Social spending to get the leaner budget he wants to fund the budget he needs. Might have to give a little in some areas, but will keep US Citizens in mind.
Our job is vote out RINOS like luther strange, flake, ryan, murkoski, collons, and and senators not in line with the Trump Agenda. Only 1/3rd of them are up for re-election on 18, bob corker of TN has to go.
Then put in Conservative Governors, for TN that is former state Sen Mae Beavers, Trump supporter, pro life, gun, get rid of the gas tax hike, DON’T VOTE IN HARWELL SHE IS A RINO, LA RAZA BOYD PRO AMNESTY.
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