Free Republic

The idea sounds prudent enough: limit the amount the federal government can borrow and you limit its ability to overspend. But this, like many Washington contraptions, is a mirage. The debt ceiling, as it currently functions, is not a tool of restraint. It is a lever of dysfunction, a mechanism that paradoxically leads to more spending, higher deficits, and greater economic instability. It is a relic that should be scrapped entirely. This might surprise even some conservatives. Elon Musk, no stranger to fiscal rigor, recently argued against raising the debt ceiling in the so-called Big Beautiful Bill. His instinct is...

Bidenflation is over. But if you feel like prices still aren't falling, you're not alone. Since Donald Trump took office, inflation has plunged from a Biden-era 5 percent to just 1.4%. This is actually below the Fed's target of 2%. Normally, at this point, the Fed would be trying to pump inflation since it's "too low." Of course, for the American people, 1.4% is not "too low." What they want is falling prices, as in take it back to pre-Biden prices. Will that happen? In short, no. Prices will never durably fall until we get rid of the Federal Reserve....

President Trump on Wednesday doubled down on calls to scrap the nation’s debt ceiling, pressing for bipartisan action to abolish it and finding common ground with Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.). “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. 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...

President Donald Trump shared on Wednesday that he wants the debt limit “scrapped,” which Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has also called for. Trump issued a statement on Truth Social Wednesday afternoon. “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 wrote. “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,” he...

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said Tuesday he plans to vote for the rule governing debate over the debt limit bill, virtually ensuring the legislation’s advancement to the House floor despite conservative opposition.Massie — a conservative lawmaker who sits on the House Rules Committee — announced his intent to vote for the rule during the panel’s hearing Tuesday.“I want to see the rule, it’s not printed yet, it’s not been read, but I anticipate voting for this rule,” he said. “When people want to express their ideology, the floor of the House on the actual final passage of the bill is...

The very unpopular "Congressman" from Texas, Chip Roy, is getting in the way, as usual, of having yet another Great Republican Victory - All for the sake of some cheap publicity for himself. Republican obstructionists have to be done away with. The Democrats are using them, and we can't let that happen. Our Country is far better off closing up for a period of time than it is agreeing to the things that the Democrats want to force upon us. Biden is President, and it's his obligation to properly lead. We're there to do the right thing, and we can't...

President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday that Congress should get rid of the debt ceiling, a day after he came out against a deal reached by congressional lawmakers to fund the government before a shutdown occurs. In a phone interview with NBC News, Trump said getting rid of the debt ceiling entirely would be the “smartest thing it [Congress] could do. I would support that entirely.” “The Democrats have said they want to get rid of it. If they want to get rid of it, I would lead the charge,” Trump added. Trump suggested that the debt ceiling is a meaningless...

A U.S. senator told Breitbart News on Wednesday evening that President-elect Donald Trump’s push to have the debt ceiling increased as part of a government funding deal this week “makes sense” from Trump’s perspective but warned it is unlikely Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer would agree to such a push. The senator, who asked for anonymity to discuss the very fluid situation on Capitol Hill just days before a government funding deadline on Friday, said Schumer only has one real piece of “leverage” over Trump next year, and that leverage is the debt ceiling deadline.

The Biden administration on Tuesday announced that the U.S. would send a $325 million weapons package to Ukraine after the country earlier this month launched a counter-offensive in the war against Russia.Driving the news: The latest aid comes as Russian missile strikes hit the south and east of the country, Axios' Dave Lawler writes.Ukraine claims to have liberated at least seven villages since launching the counter-offensive.But those gains appear to have come at a heavy cost in terms of casualties and equipment.By the numbers: The aid package includes 15 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and 10 Stryker armored personnel carriers, CBS...

The Senate voted late into the night on Thursday to approve a House-passed bill to suspend the debt limit with just days to go until Monday’s fast-approaching deadline to prevent a first-ever default. After hours of discussion and debate, lawmakers considered and voted down 11 amendments to the bill — 10 from Republicans and one from a Democrat — before finally passing the bill, sending the measure to President Joe Biden's desk with just days to spare ahead of Monday's default deadline. "No one gets everything they want in a negotiation, but make no mistake: this bipartisan agreement is a...

WASHINGTON (AP) — House conservatives staged a mini-revolt Tuesday in retaliation for Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s leadership on last week’s vote to raise the debt ceiling, the right wing banding together to block progress on a mixture of bills and vent their frustration. Led by outspoken members of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of 11 Republicans broke with their party on an otherwise routine procedural vote that threw the day’s schedule — and the rest of the week — into disarray. It’s the first such procedural rule vote to fail in nearly two decades. The group is among some of...

During this week’s broadcast of FNC’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) insisted the debt ceiling deal reached by House Republicans and the Biden White House was the “beginning of turning the ship.” “Mr. Speaker, thanks so much for joining us this morning,” FNC host Maria Bartiromo said. “Congratulations to you after all of this work you have put into this. How are you feeling this morning after the president signed the bill into law?”

A CNN poll revealed that 60 percent of Americans wanted meaningful cuts before a debt limit rise. Another 15 percent wanted the United States to default. Only 25% wanted the debt ceiling raised unconditionally.The concern was that the United States would default on its debt. This was a fearmongering falsehood. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen never produced actual numbers, and she changed the default date several times. The truth of the matter is that the federal revenue cash flow easily would easily have covered all debt payments while temporarily delaying some contact payments.Nonetheless in an overwhelming bipartisan vote (the House --...

You probably could have predicted that Joe Biden would take a victory lap after the debt deal finally went through on Thursday. Indeed, I predicted earlier in the day how it would go when I was talking to a family member — Biden would claim what a great bipartisan achievement he’d shepherded while attacking the Republicans over Social Security and Medicare (saying he saved it for Americans). Then he would take no questions.Damn, if I wasn’t right on the money. Of course, it wasn’t anything special — it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to game out their plan. I’ve just...

The Senate voted to overturn President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program Thursday in a symbolic rebuke of the plan that would partially forgive debts of an approximately 40 million borrowers—but despite picking up a few Democratic supporters, the GOP-backed legislation is doomed to fail as Biden has vowed to veto it. The Senate voted 52-46, with Democratic Sens. John Tester (Mont.) and Joe Manchin (W.Va.), along with independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), joining Republicans. The vote came less than a week after the GOP-controlled House passed the same measure 218-203, with moderate Reps. Jared Golden (D-Maine) and Marie Gluesenkamp...

Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer pushed through legislation on Thursday waiving the nation’s debt limit until January 2025, overcoming obstacles put up by defense hawks, deficit hardliners, and even environmentalist Democrats. Late in the evening, the Senate comfortably passed the debt limit deal struck by President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, mostly doing so with Democratic votes. The 63-36 vote came only days before the June 5 deadline by which Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had warned the debt limit must be raised to avert a first-ever default on the nation’s ability to pay its debts. “America can breathe...

Section 102 of the debt limit bill will discourage Congress from considering spending bills through an open process involving committee markups and amendments.Did you enjoy the massive, more than 4,000-page omnibus spending legislation that lawmakers passed days before Christmas last year without having time to read — and which the people who wrote it apparently didn’t have time to read either?If so, you’ll love the debt limit deal House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., negotiated with the Biden administration. Lawmakers’ claims to the contrary, provisions in the legislation practically guarantee another train wreck omnibus this coming December.Flawed Reason to Vote for...

In all the sturm und drang about the debt ceiling deal, how this passed under the outrageous outrage radar, I have no idea, but it tickles me to death. Now, I had only heard the bloviating about how the agreement did nothing to truncate Biden’s student loan give-away and snarl snarl snarl. But, in and of itself, that would seem like a waste of negotiating ground to me as there’s a fair chance SCOTUS will deep-six it in any event. What I think is really nifty is what McCarthy and his fellows got in this package as far as the...

BREAKING: House overwhelmingly passes Biden-McCarthy debt limit deal 314-117 On to the Senate

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) announced Tuesday that he will introduce the "conservative alternative" to the debt ceiling agreement reached by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. What are the details? Like other Republicans, Paul believes that McCarthy made significant concessions that essentially kick the can down the road and do not solve the problem of government spending. Paul, therefore, said he will propose an amendment to the so-called "Fiscal Responsibility Act" that would raise the debt ceiling only $500 billion in order to return to the negotiating table. His proposal thus solves the immediate problem of the U.S....