House Republican leadership is proposing a plan to raise the debt limit separately from the government funding bill, as reported by sources in a closed-door GOP meeting on Friday. The proposal entails raising the debt limit by $1.5 trillion next year in the 'first reconciliation package,' along with $2.5 trillion in cuts to 'net mandatory spending in the reconciliation process,' according to sources.
The plan to separate the debt limit increase from the government funding plan is currently being discussed in an ongoing House GOP conference meeting. This proposal aims to address the concerns of Republicans who oppose raising the debt ceiling without significant accompanying spending cuts.
The House GOP leadership is presenting this idea to the conference to gauge whether there is enough consensus to proceed to the floor. This approach is in response to a recent setback on Thursday night when 38 Republicans voted against a plan that linked government funding and the debt limit, a plan that had the support of President-elect Donald Trump.
President Trump had introduced the contentious issue of the debt limit into the ongoing spending negotiations. He has expressed his desire to address the debt ceiling and potentially trigger a government shutdown while President Joe Biden is still in office, rather than during his own presidency.
Earlier this week, Trump derailed a bipartisan agreement that could have prevented a shutdown but did not address the debt limit. The current discussions within the House GOP reflect the ongoing complexities surrounding the debt limit and government funding negotiations.
