Trump calls for removing debt ceiling, vows to lead charge

WASHINGTON- President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday that Congress should eliminate the debt ceiling, lending support to an idea popular among some Democrats after the new president takes office. torpedoed a bipartisan agreement hours earlier to finance the government before an imminent shutdown as the end of year holidays approach.

Trump said NBC News in a telephone interview that getting rid of the debt ceiling would be “the smartest thing Congress could do,” adding, “I would fully support that idea.” »

The debt ceiling, which limits the amount the federal government can borrow, had not previously been addressed during negotiations on an interim spending bill before Friday’s midnight deadline to keep large pieces of open American government.

“The Democrats said they wanted to get rid of it. If they want to get rid of it, I will lead the charge,” Trump told NBC, calling the debt ceiling a “meaningless” concept. “It doesn’t mean anything except psychologically,” Trump said.

Trump took a stand on the debt ceiling one step closer in his remarks to ABC News, essentially setting an ultimatum on the issue. “Nothing will be approved until the debt ceiling is removed,” Trump said.

The debt ceiling was last lifted in June 2023with Congress suspending it until January 2, 2025, to avoid a catastrophic default on the national debt. This followed weeks of bruising negotiations between President Joe Biden, then House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was later ousted as president amid criticism from his fellow Republicans for the concessions he made.

The Treasury Department can take what are called “extraordinary measures” to delay establishing a binding debit limit and give Congress more time to deal with it.

A bipartisan agreement The deal reached earlier this week between House Speaker Mike Johnson and Democrats to fund the government through mid-March collapsed Wednesday after Trump opposed it and the tech billionaire Elon Musk had the day. criticize the legislation on social networks.

The Republicans hesitated various add-ons in the 1,500-page bill, which includes pay raises for members of Congress, $100 billion in emergency aid and $21 billion for farmers who have experienced crop or livestock problems .

Before Trump’s latest remarks on eliminating the debt ceiling, he had initially called on Republicans to pass a spending bill without “Democratic giveaways,” combined with an increase in the debt ceiling while Biden is still at the White House.

In an article Wednesday evening on Truth SocialTrump said any Republican lawmaker who supports a continuing resolution without raising the debt ceiling would be “priority.” Trump said “the debt ceiling mess” should be resolved in Biden’s final weeks in office and not introduced into the Trump presidency.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said any discussion of the debt ceiling was “premature at best.” Democrats called on Republicans to stick to the bipartisan funding deal reached earlier.

But at least one House Democrat quickly came around to Trump’s idea of eliminating the debt ceiling altogether.

“For years, I have urged my colleagues to permanently eliminate the debt ceiling, which has never reduced our national debt,” said Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va. said in a post onhighlighting legislation he has already co-sponsored to achieve this goal. “Let’s abolish the debt ceiling for good.”

Contact Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.