Willie R. Tubbs, FISM News
As the reality sets in that President Joe Biden will have to concede some amount of federal spending to garner Republican support on raising the national debt ceiling, Democrats are attempting to outmaneuver House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and preserve the White House’s plans.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has headed the effort to get 218 signatures for a discharge petition, a parliamentary measure that would force a vote even without McCarthy’s blessing.
“America confronts the real possibility that right-wing extremists will force a dangerous default,” Jeffries tweeted. “We will always seek to find common ground with reasonable Republicans. But never compromise our values in a manner that hurts everyday Americans.”
Democrats would use the discharge petition to forward a bill that would increase the debt ceiling with no cuts in spending and, effectively, no strings attached.
“Senate and House Republicans want to stop wasteful spending,” a tweet from the Senate Republicans account reads. “Joe Biden and Democrats want to continue their reckless spending spree, and Americans are paying the price.”
Senate and House Republicans want to stop wasteful spending.
Joe Biden and Democrats want to continue their reckless spending spree, and Americans are paying the price. pic.twitter.com/JXLiBNCeBy
— Senate Republicans (@SenateGOP) May 17, 2023
As of this writing, three Democrats — Mary Peltola of Alaska, Ed Case of Hawaii, and Jared Golden of Maine — have not yet signed the petition.
However, Fox News reports that Peltola will sign upon her return to Washington, D.C.
“I continue to support the ongoing negotiations by all parties, and believe a discharge petition to bring a clean debt ceiling solution to the floor can provide a valuable backup option,” Fox quoted Peltola as saying “I am currently grieving the loss of my mother, but I intend to sign the discharge petition as soon as I am able to return to D.C.”
Golden has previously been cool on the idea of a discharge petition and Case has not yet publicly weighed in.
Regardless of Golden and Case’s decision, the math is not on the Democrats’ side as. With only 213 members in the lower chamber, they’ll need to inspire at least five Republicans to cross the aisle. Thus far, no one on the right has indicated any interest in making such a move.
Even the small handful of Republicans who famously held up McCarthy’s confirmation for days on end has not given any indication that they’ll side with the left on this.
The likelihood is no one on the right is bold (or foolish) enough to vacillate. To do so would be to abandon one of the key concepts of conservatism, fiscal responsibility. Even if elected Republicans have a checkered past when it comes to honoring that worldview, conservative voters would be unlikely to forgive the representative who helped Democrats defeat a Republican majority and wildly increased the national debt in the process.