Under President Barack Obama, Republicans demanded spending cuts and entitlement reforms before they’d raise the debt ceiling. Unless President Trump wants a government shutdown on his hands, Budget Committee Chairman Diane Black, R-Tenn., warns that GOP better do the same.
“I think it would be hard to get the votes if they don’t have some kind of sweetener in the pot,” Black said Monday during a meeting of the Washington Examiner’s editorial board.
“We’ve already experienced what it was like to close the country down,” Black said. Pointing to that one time the government went dark for 18 days in 2013, she predicted that “the energy will swing toward finding a way we can raise the debt ceiling while at the same time getting something back for it.”
When lawmakers return from August recess, they’ll have their work cut out for them. The White House has called on Congress to simultaneously raise the debt ceiling and pass a continuing resolution to keep the government funded and the bills paid.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin says the government can service its debt only through September 29. In response Monday, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said with confidence that “there is zero chance, no chance, we will not raise the debt ceiling.”
And Black agrees — to an extent. Failing to keep the lights on would be an embarrassment for a Republican party that controls both chambers of Congress and the White House. At the same time, Black seems to believe it’d be equally embarrassing not “to show we’re responsible on the other side with cutting spending.” That is, she expects some effort at systemic spending cuts that will be stapled to the debt-limit increaase.
No doubt the White House will find Black’s statements bothersome. They want a “clean” debt ceiling increase. While McConnell and Speaker Ryan have remained silent on their plans, Black is the most senior member of House leadership currently demanding cuts. On this front, she will have backup.
In an op-ed for the Washington Examiner, Republican Study Committee Chairman Mark Walker demanded spending reforms tacked on any debt ceiling increases. “It is what our voters expected when they brought this historic party unity, and it is how they will measure our success,” Walker wrote. “The buck stops with us.”
Unless Republican leadership decides to rely on Democrats when the GOP runs the show in Congress, they’ll need to give Black and company the fiscally “sweeteners” they crave.
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
