Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) had a problem. It was clear from day one that Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) had overpromised to members of the far-right faction of the Republican caucus in order to secure their votes for the speakership. Among those promises was passing a bill that would tie the debt ceiling raise to certain drastic cuts to federal spending. It was, in short, a promise by McCarthy to hold the economy hostage right around the time the country ran out of money to pay its bills.
That is.... kind of brilliant. I am so glad we have some people in the government who even KNOW about such things. Most of us surely don't. This illuminates another dramatic difference between House Republicans and Democrats. Republicans had spent MONTHS engaging in political terrorism and incapable of producing a budget, while Democrats had the foresight - the same MONTHS ago - to put this thing into place so that it would be ripe for the picking now, as we approach the debt ceiling crisis. GOP always complains their opponents have no plan. How's THAT for a plan!
Great piece, thanks for the excellent explainer. It’s very hopeful to see Democrats thinking ahead and making use of all the tools at their disposal to protect us from the psychos in the Republican caucus
I'm delighted to claim Mark DeSaulnier as my Congressman. I knew he was a good guy, I didn't know he was a grand master of legislative chess. Thanks, Jay, for the instructive piece.
I think it's absolutely disgusting that the simple act of paying our bills has come to this. The rules in both chambers need a total overhaul, considering the rules seems to be mostly used to fuck things up and even when the rules can be used like this, there's a better than decent chance it will fail. Democrats need to get way better at getting their message out and fast. The media seems hellbent on blaming all of this on President Biden and letting McCarthy and the Republicans off the hook, on practically everything. I'd like the media to actually grow a pair, but the chances of that happening is slim to none. Thank you for your understandable explaination.
The Democratic Party has a few moves left, McCarthy is corned not by the Democrats or Independents, but by his own party and his own decisions. The Trojan horse bill was very awesome idea and it could be combined as was stated with the problem solver’s caucus bill. The President can always enforce the section 4 of the 14th Amendment as it’s his job to execute the Constitution and even for originalists it clearly states the “validity of the public debt of the United States ... shall not be questioned.” We already fought a civil war and our framers of the 14th amendment solved this issue that’s really a made up non issue. Truthfully if that happens then the next step is to enforce it and then take it to court to destroy even the notion of a debt ceiling. It’s redundant, pointless, and a threat to national security and even the global security now. However, the Supreme Court already shit all over the 14th amendment on Roe v Wade by using 12th century law and William Hale from the Salem Witch Trials maybe this time the Supreme Court can use 2nd century and 3rd century Roman economics because that worked out so well for them.
As usual, a masterfully written piece explaining this subject. Thank you Jay! As a side note, I’m still shocked by the fact that the supposed adults in our government have to resort to such shenanigans to simply pay our nation’s bills. I’ve had much more success with teaching my sixth grade students about collaboration, compromise, and above all else, working collectively toward a better outcome for as many as possible. I’m so disappointed in this entire debt ceiling “negotiation”. Pay the damn bills & get to work on tackling some of the horrendous issues our country is facing. Defeating FASCISM, again, seems a bit important to me, but what do I know? Have a beautiful day everyone!
Legislative strategy and rarely-used maneuvers speak to the whole gamesmanship of the system, but, at the end of the day, this is not some VR romp but the fate of our country, the quality of our lives, and, if circumstances, our actual lives.
Why isn't more being made of the 14th (in all capacities, while we're at it)? I mean, that ironically-named Caucus just loves to allude to the Bill of Rights, though they are not too familiar with the actual content....
Federal Reserve Chair Yellen said recently that the US will default on its debts on or around June 1 if the debt ceiling is not raised. Given that May 16 is the earliest date that a discharge petition on the DeSaulnier bill could be acted upon, is there actually even a slight chance that both a discharge petition and an amendment to the DeSaulnier bill could be voted on prior to June 1, let alone a passed amended bill sent to the Senate?
Excellent explanation. While this is an elegant, though numbingly circuitous approach, the happy ending still requires you to get to 218 votes. If it works, I would love to see an in depth debriefing of the 5 Republicans who switched their votes. Why? Because if ever there was a distinction without a difference, this is the text book example.
And *this* is why term limits are a short-sighted idea. We really need to have people in Congress who know the system and hold the institutional memories.
That is.... kind of brilliant. I am so glad we have some people in the government who even KNOW about such things. Most of us surely don't. This illuminates another dramatic difference between House Republicans and Democrats. Republicans had spent MONTHS engaging in political terrorism and incapable of producing a budget, while Democrats had the foresight - the same MONTHS ago - to put this thing into place so that it would be ripe for the picking now, as we approach the debt ceiling crisis. GOP always complains their opponents have no plan. How's THAT for a plan!
Great piece, thanks for the excellent explainer. It’s very hopeful to see Democrats thinking ahead and making use of all the tools at their disposal to protect us from the psychos in the Republican caucus
I'm delighted to claim Mark DeSaulnier as my Congressman. I knew he was a good guy, I didn't know he was a grand master of legislative chess. Thanks, Jay, for the instructive piece.
Jay Kuo: You write love letters to Americans, keeping hope alive. Thank you!
I think it's absolutely disgusting that the simple act of paying our bills has come to this. The rules in both chambers need a total overhaul, considering the rules seems to be mostly used to fuck things up and even when the rules can be used like this, there's a better than decent chance it will fail. Democrats need to get way better at getting their message out and fast. The media seems hellbent on blaming all of this on President Biden and letting McCarthy and the Republicans off the hook, on practically everything. I'd like the media to actually grow a pair, but the chances of that happening is slim to none. Thank you for your understandable explaination.
Fantastic. I have hope. The brilliance behind this is epic. The GOP just continues to rot and stink. Such traitors.
Being practical - now that is something I could get used to -
It helps to have people who actually know how the government works and do their jobs effectively.
The Democratic Party has a few moves left, McCarthy is corned not by the Democrats or Independents, but by his own party and his own decisions. The Trojan horse bill was very awesome idea and it could be combined as was stated with the problem solver’s caucus bill. The President can always enforce the section 4 of the 14th Amendment as it’s his job to execute the Constitution and even for originalists it clearly states the “validity of the public debt of the United States ... shall not be questioned.” We already fought a civil war and our framers of the 14th amendment solved this issue that’s really a made up non issue. Truthfully if that happens then the next step is to enforce it and then take it to court to destroy even the notion of a debt ceiling. It’s redundant, pointless, and a threat to national security and even the global security now. However, the Supreme Court already shit all over the 14th amendment on Roe v Wade by using 12th century law and William Hale from the Salem Witch Trials maybe this time the Supreme Court can use 2nd century and 3rd century Roman economics because that worked out so well for them.
As usual, a masterfully written piece explaining this subject. Thank you Jay! As a side note, I’m still shocked by the fact that the supposed adults in our government have to resort to such shenanigans to simply pay our nation’s bills. I’ve had much more success with teaching my sixth grade students about collaboration, compromise, and above all else, working collectively toward a better outcome for as many as possible. I’m so disappointed in this entire debt ceiling “negotiation”. Pay the damn bills & get to work on tackling some of the horrendous issues our country is facing. Defeating FASCISM, again, seems a bit important to me, but what do I know? Have a beautiful day everyone!
Thanks for the explanation So complicated and so infuriating that the Rethugs are forcing this on us.
Legislative strategy and rarely-used maneuvers speak to the whole gamesmanship of the system, but, at the end of the day, this is not some VR romp but the fate of our country, the quality of our lives, and, if circumstances, our actual lives.
Why isn't more being made of the 14th (in all capacities, while we're at it)? I mean, that ironically-named Caucus just loves to allude to the Bill of Rights, though they are not too familiar with the actual content....
Federal Reserve Chair Yellen said recently that the US will default on its debts on or around June 1 if the debt ceiling is not raised. Given that May 16 is the earliest date that a discharge petition on the DeSaulnier bill could be acted upon, is there actually even a slight chance that both a discharge petition and an amendment to the DeSaulnier bill could be voted on prior to June 1, let alone a passed amended bill sent to the Senate?
Excellent explanation. While this is an elegant, though numbingly circuitous approach, the happy ending still requires you to get to 218 votes. If it works, I would love to see an in depth debriefing of the 5 Republicans who switched their votes. Why? Because if ever there was a distinction without a difference, this is the text book example.
And *this* is why term limits are a short-sighted idea. We really need to have people in Congress who know the system and hold the institutional memories.
I almost feel sorry for the gop which is peopled by morons.