Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell sent President Joe Biden a letter in October with a warning that he repeated three times in five paragraphs. The Senate Republican leader vowed that he would “not be a party to any future effort” to help Democrats lift the debt ceiling—a necessary step that Congress must take to avoid an economically damaging default.
He caved on that as he caves on every threat.
Republicans, he told reporters this week, would help Democrats raise the debt limit and avert a fiscal crisis. “I think this is in the best interest of the country,” McConnell said, “and I think it is in the best interest of Republicans.”
He is so full of it.
McConnell will allow Democrats to raise the debt ceiling on their own with a simple majority vote, waiving the filibuster, setting precedent.
Republicans will agree to temporarily waive the Senate’s filibuster rules requiring 60 votes for passage.
McConnell made clear that this would be a one-time exception (until he caves again), but he’s setting a precedent that raises endless possibilities. If he was willing to cast off the filibuster for the debt ceiling, what other issues could Democrats force him to back down on? Voting rights? Gun control?
If Democrats are intent on hanging themselves before the midterms next year, McConnell has determined that his best move is to hand them a rope and get out of their way. “As he looks ahead to next year, he loves what he sees, and he doesn’t want to do anything to rock the boat,” Jim Manley, a former Democratic Senate aide, and longtime McConnell observer told Bloomberg reporter Russell Brand.
To us, it looks like he’s running scared or playing games while giving Joe Biden another win. He met secretly with his buddy Chuck Schumer to come up with this deal, which paves the way for his communist/socialist bill. Only Joe Manchin and Kristen Sinema — who are not moderates — stand in the way.
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