According to a recent letter received by AWN, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has revealed that House Democrats have taken a vital procedural step that might be utilised to bypass House Republican leadership and enable Democrats to attempt to force a vote on raising the debt ceiling.
The action is the next step for House Democrats to preserve all of their choices as they face a June 1 deadline for a potential default if Congress does not act to raise the debt ceiling before then.
The procedural process might be used to bring up a discharge petition to address the debt limit, but Democrats would need Republican support for the step to take effect, which is unknown.
A discharge petition can be used to compel a floor vote, but only with the support of a majority of House members. The high bar that must be satisfied makes it difficult for discharge petitions to succeed.
Two hundred and thirteen House Democrats would require the support of five Republicans. However, a number of Republican lawmakers from swing districts have already stated their opposition to Jeffries’ effort.
Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, who represents a district that President Joe Biden carried in 2020, told AWN on Tuesday that he has “no appetite for the’my way or the highway’ stance of Biden and Jeffries.”
“In a divided government, people who want to govern sit down and try to find some common ground,” Bacon explained.
Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York, who also represents a Biden-won district, shared that sentiment, telling AWN that Democrats’ refusal to engage amounts to “putting the full faith and credit of our nation at risk.”
Another swing district Republican, Rep. David Valadao of California, told AWN that he would not support a Democratic discharge petition on a clean debt ceiling increase.
The debt ceiling discharge petition would be attached to a bill introduced by Democratic Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, which has already been filed with several committees of authority.
“House Democrats are working to ensure we have all options available to avoid a default,” Jeffries wrote in a letter to a colleague obtained by AWN. “At the start of the 118th Congress, Rep. Mark DeSaulnier introduced legislation with leadership that could be used as a vehicle to avert the Republican-manufactured default crisis.”
“The filing of a debt ceiling measure to be brought up on the discharge calendar preserves an important option,” continued the minority leader.
