Congress
Johnson downplays debt cliff risks with one-track reconciliation push
Trying to raise the debt limit in a massive reconciliation bill could completely derail an already messy process. Speaker Mike Johnson is insisting it’s still his plan.
Republicans were already worried that passing new policies on the border, energy and taxes via the budget reconciliation process — which they can use to pass bills on a party-line basis — was going to be difficult. Johnson then promised incoming President Donald Trump in December that he would also use a reconciliation bill to raise the debt ceiling, adding another layer of complexity. Conservatives are generally opposed to raising the debt limit, and have demanded huge spending cuts in exchange for their support.
Asked about the potential risks to the nation’s credit rating if the package is delayed, Johnson indicated in a brief interview Tuesday that he’s still pushing for the measure and reiterated his optimistic timeline for passage.
“We’re gonna get the debt limit handled well before the June deadline. So we’re not concerned about that,” Johnson said, referring to a tentative estimate for when the nation could be risking default unless Congress acts.
GOP leaders have been privately discussing several options for the debt limit, including dealing with it via the budget reconciliation process as part of a deal with hardliners to pair it with deep spending cuts. They’ve also raised the option of incorporating a debt ceiling hike in the upcoming federal funding talks — though Johnson acknowledged in a press conference earlier Tuesday that such a move would require bipartisan negotiations, meaning Democrats could make spending demands in exchange for their support.
In the Tuesday press conference, Johnson reiterated to reporters that “the intention is to handle the debt limit in reconciliation.” He added: “That way, as the Republican Party, the party in charge of both chambers, we then get to determine the details of that.”
Not all Republicans are fully settled on a strategy yet, however.
“How we deal with the debt limit is currently unresolved,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said. “We’re going to be looking to see what the House is capable of passing.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he is confident Sen. Markwayne Mullin will be confirmed as the next secretary of Homeland Security despite a contentious exchange with fellow GOP Sen. Rand Paul at a hearing Wednesday.
Paul, the chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, sharply questioned the Oklahoma senator about past remarks that he “understood” why Paul suffered a heinous assault from a neighbor in 2017. Mullin refused to apologize for the remark.
“Those two obviously have some history, and it’s, you know, personal stuff,” Thune said. “They’ve got to work through it. I mean, in the end, this is about the job, and it’s about making sure that we got the right person there. I think Markwayne is the right person for the job.”
Asked if he was still confident Mullin can be confirmed, Thune said, “Yeah.”
Paul has scheduled a committee vote on Mullin for Thursday. While Paul’s vote is in serious doubt, Mullin could win over Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, who has expressed support for Mullin previously and said Wednesday he would approach the nomination “with an open mind.”
“I haven’t been rocked by some mic-dropping kind of moments,” Fetterman told reporters after the hearing.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin said he regretted calling Alex Pretti “deranged” but stopped short of offering a direct apology to Pretti’s family.
“I shouldn’t have said that,” the Oklahoma Republican said during his confirmation hearing Wednesday to serve as the next Homeland Security secretary. He was referring to his past comments regarding the U.S. citizen killed by federal immigration enforcement agents in Minnesota back in January, who some conservatives in the immediate aftermath labeled a “domestic terrorist.”
It was a stronger concession than Mullin gave just moments earlier, when he refused to apologize for calling Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the chair of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, a “snake.” Still, when pressed by the committee’s top Democrat, Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, Mullin would not commit to apologizing to Pretti’s family until the conclusion of an investigation into the incident.
“If I’m proven wrong, then I will,” Mullin said.
Regarding Renee Good, another U.S. citizen killed by immigration enforcement officers in Minnesota earlier this year, Mullin refused to retract comments he made at the time of Good’s death, specifically that agents were justified in killing her. He told BLN in January that agents “had the right to defend themselves.”
He said he would wait for the findings of the investigation into Good’s killing to comment further; Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) countered that the Trump administration is currently blocking state and local inquiries.
A committee vote on Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s confirmation as Homeland Security secretary remains on track for Thursday despite a fiery sparring session Wednesday between the Oklahoma Republican and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, the chair of the panel that must approve his nomination.
A spokesperson for Paul said after the tense exchange — during which Mullin refused to apologize for comments saying he “understood” why Paul was violently assaulted in 2017 — that the committee vote “is on for tomorrow.”
As chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Paul has wide latitude to schedule action on Mullin’s nomination.
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