Trump blames debt ceiling mess on GOP leaders in Congress

President Donald Trump said he asked Republican leaders in Congress to include a measure to raise the US debt ceiling in a popular veterans bill to avoid a “mess” in which they have to rely on Democrats’ support. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin decided against tying the measures together, Trump said in a series of Twitter posts Thursday. “I requested that Mitch M & Paul R tie the Debt Ceiling legislation into the popular VA Bill (which just passed) for easy approval. They didn’t do it so now we have a big deal with Dems holding them up (as usual) on Debt Ceiling approval. Could have been so easy-now a mess!” Trump tweeted. GOP leaders in July discussed using a veterans bill as a vehicle to raise the debt ceiling. But conservatives in the House have demanded that steep spending cuts accompany any debt bill.