How Chuck Schumer Gets His Mojo Back

Tara Palmeri: “Republicans have had a remarkable two week stretch—they made Schumer blink and pass the continuing resolution. He in turn had his ass handed to him by everyone from Nancy Pelosi to AOC. But in the next two months there is a high probability that Republicans will be crawling back to Schumer when they have to raise the debt ceiling again, something that no Republican wants to put on their scorecard.”

“Trump relied on Democrats three times during his first term to raise the limit. In fact, just 65 Republicans in the House and 17 in the Senate voted in favor of it in 2019. Given this dynamic, it would seem impossible to pass it along a party-lines through reconciliation. It’s only happened four times in history and surely Republicans are not in a position to make that happen when they only have two to three votes to lose. Raising the debt ceiling is the critical first step before passing the real prize for Republicans—tax reform.”

“The trap for Republicans could be the thing that gives Schumer his mojo back—an opportunity to restore his reputation by winning some concessions for Democrats. But after this past week, the expectations from the party are going to be steep.”