WTF Just Happened Today

Wednesday, October 6, 2021

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1/ The Senate postponed a vote to suspend the nation’s debt limit after Republicans planned to filibuster the effort for the third time in two weeks. Mitch McConnell and Republicans lawmakers continue to block debate on the legislation as part of their opposition to Biden’s economic agenda, arguing that Democrats should raise the debt limit unilaterally through reconciliation. Democrats, however, have repeatedly said that reconciliation is not an option, since it would be too complicated, time-consuming, and “risky” given the threat of a first-ever default on federal debt. Democrats need at least 10 Republicans to join them to break a filibuster on raising the debt ceiling. Schumer has said he wants Congress to pass legislation on the debt ceiling by the end of the week. (Washington Post / Reuters / CNN)

2/ Biden suggested that it’s a “real possibility” for Democrats to revise the Senate’s filibuster rules to overcome the Republican blockade on raising the debt ceiling. To invoke the “nuclear option” and change the filibuster rules, Democrats would need unity from their 50-member caucus, including Harris’ tie-breaking vote. Democrats said any “carve out” for the debt limit would apply only to the debt limit and not other measures. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, however, remain opposed to changing the Senate’s filibuster rules. Manchin called any speculation that he would support changing the filibuster “theatrics,” but added “we are not going to default as a country.” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, meanwhile, warned that Oct. 18 is the deadline before the U.S. “will be out of extraordinary measures, have limited cash, and likely to exhaust it very quickly.” She added that a default could plunge the U.S. into a recession. (Washington Post / New York Times / NBC News / Bloomberg / The Hill / CNN)

3/ Mitch McConnell offered to allow Democrats to temporarily raise the debt ceiling, but refused to lift the GOP blockade of a long-term increase. In a statement, McConnell said Republicans would let Democrats lift the debt ceiling through November to a fixed number, rather than suspending the limit until a set date, which would give Democrats more time to pass debt limit legislation through reconciliation without any Republican votes. “This will moot Democrats’ excuses about the time crunch,” McConnell said in a statement. Senate Democrats signaled they would accept McConnell’s offer, setting up a vote as soon as this week on the short-term debt patch. White House press secretary Jen Psaki, meanwhile, responded to McConnell’s proposal, saying: “We could get this done today, we don’t need to kick the can, we don’t need to go through a cumbersome process that every day brings additional risks.” (