Senators on both sides of the aisle expressed opposition to a short-term debt limit extension to allow more time to negotiate a larger deal with the White House as the deadline to prevent a default on the nation’s debt draws closer.
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) said he could be open to a short-term extension at some point in the future if a deal cannot be reached. However, he said he wasn’t ready to support that option currently.
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“I’d only be interested in that if there’s some serious significant progress happening between the president and the speaker,” Cramer told the Washington Examiner on Tuesday. “If they are working hard at it and it looks like they are getting closer, yeah, I could be compelled to have a little more time if they need. But I don’t want to do it now because every day you give them, they’ll take, and that’s just the way we work around here.”
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) also admitted he would be open to an extension if the White House were engaging in “good faith” discussions and time were needed to finalize and work out a deal. However, his team emphasized the Florida senator supports the plan passed by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
In the lower chamber, there was a proposal floated for a short-term deal from the Problem Solvers Caucus last month, which proposed suspending the debt limit through the end of the year. The plan from the 64-member bipartisan group would allow a further extension to February 2025 if lawmakers create a deficit-reduction commission. But, most Senators on both sides of the aisle said they would not be willing even to entertain the idea of a short-term increase or suspension.
“My view is that the short term would just delay the necessary decisions that have to be made,” Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) said. “We need for this to be resolved, and it needs to be resolved in a way that provides some certainty and long-term conclusion.”
Senate Democratic leaders continue to call for passing a debt ceiling increase without any spending cuts and said an extension is not a viable solution.
“We should not kick the can down the road,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said on Tuesday during a press conference. “We should go for the full two-year extension.”
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) also admitted a short-term extension has not been an option Democrats have discussed.
“I don’t have an opinion on that. It seems simple to me. Do your job and pay American debt, then we can sit down and talk about their ridiculous demands,” Murphy told the Washington Examiner. “I’ve got demands too, but I’m not threatening to burn down the American economy if they don’t pass my agenda. I could say if you don’t pass background checks, I’m not going to vote to raise the debt ceiling. I don’t do that because I think that’s an incredibly irresponsible position and terrible precedent to set.”
On Tuesday, the White House also continued to stick with its long-held position.
“Given the limited time Congress now has, it is clear that the only practical path to avoid default is for Congress to suspend the debt limit, without conditions,” said press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the deadline to lift the nation’s borrowing limit could be as early as June 1 on Monday, earlier than her previous prediction. The U.S. has been using “extraordinary measures” to pay the bills after hitting the borrowing limit back in January.
McCarthy accepted Biden’s invitation to meet with him and other top congressional leaders at the White House on May 9 on Tuesday, ending a monthslong impasse between the two leaders over the looming deadline. Republicans want spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt ceiling, while Democrats want to increase the country’s borrowing limit with no conditions.
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Additionally, House Democrats are preparing their own plan to allow them to bypass Republican leaders and bring their own clean debt ceiling bill to the floor. The plan would require all Democratic House members' support and a handful of Republicans. It would also need at least 60 senators to overcome a filibuster in the upper chamber.
“I certainly don’t think they have enough support in the House for that,” Cramer said. “I can’t imagine how there could be 218 Republicans who supported what's in front of them, how they can enforce a discharge of a clean debt ceiling. I don’t even think the Republicans that didn’t vote for the deal would be hard-pressed to support that because they didn’t vote for the deal because it wasn’t conservative enough. So, I don’t see a way to get to 218.”