Joshua Green: “The dirty secret about debt-limit brinkmanship is that it doesn’t do anything to reduce spending. It’s a cynical deception perpetrated by both parties on the millions of Americans who are unfamiliar with the goofy, pointless, and potentially costly two-step process by which Congress allots and spends taxpayer money.”

“Most people assume, not unreasonably, that refusing to raise the debt limit will force a cut in government spending. But that’s not how the process works.

“First, Congress passes a budget resolution that determines how much money will be spent—think of it as ordering dinner from a restaurant menu. Then Congress raises the debt limit to allow for that spending, effectively paying for dinner when the waiter brings the bill. Refusing to raise the debt limit is like haggling over the tab for a dinner you’ve already consumed. Why are there two steps? No good reason at all.”

Punchbowl News: “We’re not being histrionic, but Congress seems to be stumbling into a shutdown, despite one-party control of Washington.”

“The Senate is likely to wait until Monday to vote on the House-passed government funding bill, which would keep agencies open until Dec. 3. Because that legislation includes a provision suspending the debt limit until December 2022, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and his GOP colleagues will block it from being considered.”

“That leaves just three days for the congressional leaders and the White House to find a way to keep the government open. Congress could pass a temporary funding extension to ensure federal agencies remain open while a longer-term funding bill — sans the debt limit — is cobbled together.”

“But the debt limit issue still has to be dealt with, and that could take several weeks if Democrats choose to go it alone.”

House Budget Chair John Yarmuth (D-KY) told Punchbowl News it would be “virtually impossible” at this juncture for Democrats to use the 50-vote threshold afforded to them in budget reconciliation to lift the debt limit.

“Yarmuth is the Budget Committee chair, so if anyone could speak knowledgeably about this, it would be him relaying information from his staff. We’ll have to see how the House and Senate proceed here.”

“Senate sources were quick to say Yarmuth is misreading the situation, and this could move quickly if it needs to.”

“Democrats want to bludgeon the GOP over its debt ceiling intransigence as much as they can — though not necessarily hard enough to shut the government down next week,” Politico reports.

“Publicly, Senate Democrats’ preferred option is to continue pressuring Republicans to buckle and accept their proposal linking government funding and a debt ceiling increase. But failing that, they say they need to ensure they avoid a momentum-draining shutdown next week amid the pandemic and internal dissent over acting on President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda.”