President-elect Donald Trump said he supports abolishing the debt ceiling because it's the "smartest thing," a day after scuttling a bipartisan spending deal that would have averted a federal government shutdown in two days.
Trump informed Republican lawmakers about his opposition to the 1,500-page bill put together by House Speaker Mike Johnson after billionaire Elon Musk, whom Trump named to run a government efficiency panel, criticized it as full of Democratic giveaways.
In his Wednesday message, Trump pushed for a "clear" spending bill that increases the debt ceiling.
On Thursday, the president-elect told NBC News that he would be fine with ditching it all together, saying it would be the "smartest thing it [Congress] could do. I would support that entirely."
"The Democrats have said they want to get rid of it. If they want to get rid of it, I would lead the charge," Trump said, noting that the concept of the debt ceiling "doesn't mean anything, except psychologically."
The debt ceiling sets a limit on how much money the U.S. government can borrow to "meet its existing legal obligations."
It is now set at $31.46 trillion.
Asked about the possibility of a government shutdown if a deal isn't reached by 12:01 a.m. Saturday, Trump said: "If there's going to be a shutdown, we're going to start it with a Democratic president," echoing a statement he and Vice President-elect JD Vance issued Wednesday, urging the debate to occur during the Biden administration and before they take office on Jan. 20.
"Increasing the debt ceiling is not great but we'd rather do it on Biden's watch," Trump and Vance said. "If Democrats won't cooperate on the debt ceiling now, what makes anyone think they would do it in June during our administration? Let's have this debate now. "
The debt ceiling was suspended in 2023 until Jan. 1, 2025.
The Trump administration suspended it three times.
