With House Republicans so far unable to agree on a proposal to slash federal spending in exchange for helping to raise the debt limit, a group of centrist Democrats is reportedly working on a fallback plan to avoid a potentially ruinous default on the nation’s debt.
According to Politico’s Sarah Ferris, Adam Cancryn and Burgess Everett, a “rogue” group of House Democrats has been holding talks with moderate Republicans on how to proceed if Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is unable to wrangle his combative caucus and come up with a coherent fiscal plan that raises the debt limit before the U.S. is unable to pay its bills – a crisis point that could arrive as soon as June 5, though it’s more likely to occur later this summer, with some experts targeting mid-August.
There are no details about the plan itself. But the planning effort and the lines of communication it requires could help produce a last-minute solution should lawmakers find themselves teetering on the edge of disaster in a few months.
Whatever the specifics, the White House and senior Democratic lawmakers are cool to the idea. Democratic officials think they have gained the upper hand in the dispute and are happy to let Republicans bicker among themselves as they struggle to square conflicting demands for cutting spending while insisting they will not raise the debt ceiling without concessions – even as President Joe Biden maintains his position that he will not negotiate over the debt limit and wants lawmakers to pass a “clean” bill to raise it.
Senior Democrats also warn that the moderates’ efforts probably won’t work and could make it harder to pass a clean bill.
“We’re gaining ground because of [House Republicans’] inability to put together a plan,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told Politico. “I’m certainly willing to entertain a mix of things on the budget. Not on the debt ceiling.”
Apparently lacking a working majority, Republicans have backed away from an earlier plan to release their own budget proposal that would set the stage to negotiate spending cuts. “GOP leaders are struggling to coalesce around a viable blueprint thanks to their members’ ever-expanding wish list and the realization that, for some hardline conservatives, there may be no level of austerity that would cut deep enough,” Ferris, Cancryn and Everett write.
The bottom line: With debt ceiling talks between party leaders going nowhere, centrists in both parties are seeking a potential solution to the problem. But it’s not clear that there is a compromise available right now that can win sufficient support to avert disaster – though that may change as the day of crisis draws nearer.