Trump sets ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ with Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi to permanently remove the debt ceiling
President Trump and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) have agreed to pursue a deal that would permanently remove the requirement that Congress repeatedly raise the debt ceiling, three sources told The Washington Post.
Trump and Schumer discussed the idea Wednesday during an Oval Office meeting. The two, along with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D–Calif.), agreed to work together over the next several months to try to finalize a plan, which would need to be approved by Congress.
One of the people familiar described it as a “gentlemen’s agreement.”
The Post does note that “The three people spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss details of the meeting.”
On Thursday, Trump was asked by a reporter at the White House about abolishing the congressional process for raising the debt ceiling. He replied that “there are lots of good reasons to do that.”
The Senate voted 80-17 to approve the deal Trump reached with Democrats on Wednesday, which would raise the federal debt limit and fund the government through Dec. 8. The legislation included $15.25 billion in aid for areas affected by Hurricane Harvey and other natural disasters.
The bill now goes to the House for final congressional approval, where it faces opposition from conservatives who traditionally favor raising the ceiling while also cutting spending.
Representative Bill Flores, a Republican helping round up votes for the deal, said his count of party members intending to vote yes on the legislation “didn’t look very good.”
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) said at a news conference Thursday that he opposes scrapping the debt-limit process.
“I won’t get into a private conversation that we had [at the White House], but I think there’s a legitimate role for the power of the purse of the Article 1 powers, and that’s something we defend here in Congress.”
Article 1 of the Constitution sets up Congress’s powers, giving it the authority to write and pass legislation and appropriate government money.
The U.S. government spends more money than it brings in through taxes and fees, and it covers that gap by issuing debt to borrow money. The government can borrow money only up to a certain limit, known as the debt limit or the debt ceiling.