GOP Leery of White House Request to Raise Debt Ceiling Soon
House Freedom Caucus, including Justin Amash (R-MI,) opposes raising U.S. debt limit without spending cuts.
Trump Administration officials are calling on Congress to raise the nation’s debt ceiling and to do it far sooner than most imagined necessary.
But not so fast, says a conservative group that includes a prominent Michigan Congressman.
Congress must approve raising the limit on how much debt the nation is allowed to accrue or risk having the U.S. default on its obligations.
Legislators thought they wouldn’t have to deal with the issue until this fall.
But the White House budget director and the U.S. Treasury Secretary say the government has received fewer revenues than anticipated.
They want the debt ceiling raised by the end of July.
That poses a problem for the Republican-controlled Congress.
The House Freedom Caucus, which includes Congressman Justin Amash (R-MI,) a frequent critic of the President, says it will oppose any debt increase unless it is paired with sharp spending cuts.
But the GOP will likely need Democratic votes to raise the ceiling, giving the minority party leverage to push for either a so-called “clean” raise without any additional spending or one with extra funding for programs they champion.
