Trump ‘happy’ working with Dems
Prez supports Pelosi debt ceiling increase
President Trump stunned Republican leaders yesterday by going along with a deal pitched by Democratic rivals Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer to fund the government and raise the debt ceiling for three months — setting up an end-of-year showdown that could leave the usually diminished liberals with actual leverage.
“We had a great meeting with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi and the whole Republican leadership group,” Trump told a crowd in North Dakota yesterday. “We walked out and everybody was happy. Not too happy ’cause you can never be too happy, but they were happy enough and it was nice to see that happen for a change because it hasn’t happened for a long time in this country.”
House Speaker Paul Ryan before the meeting called the Democrats’ plan “ridiculous and disgraceful,” and Trump, according to Reuters, overruled even his own Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Many conservative Republicans will only vote to raise the debt ceiling if spending cuts are included.
The odd alliance prompted some rare praise for Trump from Schumer. “Today was a good day in a generally partisan town,” he said. “The bottom line is, the president listened to the arguments. We think we made a very reasonable and strong argument. And, to his credit, he went with the better argument.”
But lawmakers on both sides were left scratching their heads as to whether Trump was trying to demonstrate the art of the deal and put Republican leaders in their place, or had just handed a major victory to his opponents and displayed jawdropping inexperience in the ways of Washington.
Now, Democrats are likely to have some unexpected leverage come December to bargain and stall GOP proposals. That’s because Democratic votes will be needed to get the funding measures passed.
The deal extends the debt ceiling — the limit on how much the U.S. can borrow — allowing the government to pay its bills and fund federal programs until December, when lawmakers will have to confront the issue again. It also provides about $7.9 billion in Hurricane Harvey aid.
“We believe that helping to clear the decks in September enables us to focus on tax reform for the American people,” White House Director of Legislative Affairs Marc Short told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Bismarck, N.D., where the president was pitching tax overhaul. “We need to get the economy growing again and that’s what we need to focus on.”
The move pushes the expected September legislative fights down the calendar and gives Congress a chance to tackle other topics first. But Republicans wanted it extended even further — until after the 2018 midterm elections.