Debt Limit Showdown Looms

“After the drama of last week, Washington may feel like it’s due for a break. No such luck. On Oct. 18, the U.S. government will hit the debt limit, meaning the Treasury Department won’t be able to borrow more money to finance government operations. Right now, the issue is caught up in a partisan showdown that shows no signs of resolution,” Punchbowl News reports.

“We have some news on this as well: Last week, the Senate parliamentarian’s office privately provided both Democrats and Republicans with guidance about raising the debt limit via reconciliation. Under this process, Democrats could pass a debt-limit reconciliation package with only a majority vote, and they wouldn’t need any GOP support. This has been the approach McConnell has been calling for over the last two-plus months.”

“According to the parliamentarian’s office, Democrats could do this without impacting the existing reconciliation package. That legislation would stay on its own separate track and not lose its privilege in the Senate, meaning it can’t be filibustered and would only require a majority vote for approval. Democrats had been concerned that they could jeopardize that bigger bill by attempting to do a separate, debt-limit-only reconciliation bill, but that’s not the case, the parliamentarian said.”