Congress
Trump tells Senate GOP he wants a debt limit increase in his tax bill
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso told reporters Tuesday that Donald Trump wants the debt ceiling dealt with as part of a party-line package to enact the president’s sweeping domestic agenda.
The issue, according to Barrasso, came up during a meeting earlier this month when Senate Finance Committee Republicans visited the White House to discuss the path forward for the “one big, beautiful bill” that Trump is envisioning to link an overhaul of the tax code to border, energy and defense policies.
“We’ve discussed that with the President … at the White House. He’s called for including it as part of the reconciliation bill,” said Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican who is also a member of the Finance Committee.
The topic is due to come up again later Tuesday afternoon, when Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Speaker Mike Johnson and the top congressional tax writers head back to the White House to meet with Trump administration officials about the reconciliation bill and how to harmonize the House-approved budget blueprint — which would include a debt limit hike — with the Senate’s — which is silent on the matter.
Barrasso, asked if he thinks some of his colleagues will advocate for or against its inclusion, demurred: “Every member will speak for himself,” he said.
Yet even as Trump has signaled privately that he wants a hike of the debt limit inserted into a reconciliation package — which would let him avoid having to make a deal with Democrats to avoid a catastrophic default in the coming months — congressional Republicans remain unsure if they’ll have the votes to include the policy in the bill. Some Senate conservatives have also warned against including it or cautioned they would need to see steep spending cuts to other government programs as a condition of supporting its inclusion.
Time could be running out to come up with a strategy. Congress’ nonpartisan scorekeeper, the Congressional Budget Office, plans to release its debt limit forecast Wednesday. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who will take part in Tuesday’s White House meeting, has told lawmakers he plans to send his own projection in the first half of May for when the nation will surpass its borrowing authority.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is in the Capitol meeting with holdout GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Bill Cassidy of Louisiania as he tries to lock down their support for his confirmation as permanent leader of the Justice Department.
Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) declined to respond directly Wednesday to Speaker Mike Johnson’s refusal to denounce his former son-in-law Rep. Max Miller over abuse accusations leveled by Moreno’s daughter: “These aren’t accusations in my world,” he said.
“In my world, this is the reality,” Moreno told reporters at the Capitol. “This is not something that is theoretical to me. This is my lived reality of my daughter and my family every single solitary day.”
In an interview with Dasha Burns for Blue Light News’s The Conversation, Johnson declined to take sides in the dispute between Miller (R-Ohio) and Emily Moreno. He called for a House Ethics probe to “play out.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s expected choice for Army chief of staff faces resistance that could imperil his confirmation, according to the chair of the panel that needs to approve it.
Senate Armed Services head Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said Wednesday that he was aware of “some opposition within the committee” to acting Army chief of staff Gen. Christopher LaNeve taking the job on a permanent basis.
LaNeve, previously Hegseth’s senior military aide, was confirmed as Army vice chief of staff in January. But he has also served as acting chief of staff since April when Hegseth forced out popular Gen. Randy George, a move that drew widespread criticism from lawmakers in both parties.
Wicker said he was “not able to predict right now” if lawmakers could address concerns about LaNeve. He did not specify whether the concerns were raised by Republicans, but GOP resistance is likely given that nominees could advance through the committee on a party-line vote.
LaNeve has only held the position of four-star general for six months, an anomaly for the the senior most Army officer.
The Wall Street Journal first reported about Republican opposition to LaNeve, citing Sen. Joni Ernst’s (R-Iowa) concerns about his lack of experience at the four-star rank.
Ernst, in an interview, did not dispute that she was the source of the holdup. But she called it a moot point as President Donald Trump has not yet formally nominated LaNeve to the position. And she disputed reports that LaNeve’s lack of experience was the sticking point.
“I don’t think that time and grade has anything to do with leadership ability, so I don’t know how that came about, honestly.” she said. “That’s not what I’ve told anyone.”
If the opposition continues, Trump could decide to leave LeNeve in the acting position indefinitely.
-
The Josh Fourrier Show2 years agoDOOMSDAY: Trump won, now what?
-
Politics1 year agoFormer ‘Squad’ members launching ‘Bowman and Bush’ YouTube show
-
Uncategorized2 years ago
Bob Good to step down as Freedom Caucus chair this week
-
The Dictatorship1 year agoLuigi Mangione acknowledges public support in first official statement since arrest
-
Politics1 year agoFormer Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron launches Senate bid
-
The Dictatorship1 year agoPete Hegseth’s tenure at the Pentagon goes from bad to worse
-
Politics1 year agoBlue Light News’s Editorial Director Ryan Hutchins speaks at Blue Light News’s 2025 Governors Summit
-
The Dictatorship11 months agoMike Johnson sums up the GOP’s arrogant position on military occupation with two words