Now that President (non-elect) Musk has blown up the carefully negotiated continuing resolution to keep the government open, VP-Elect Trump is doing is best to preserve what little power he has by imploring Democrats to get rid of the debt ceiling entirely.
Writing on his money laundering site Truth Social site, Trump called for Democrats to end the "mess of the debt limit" entirely for his four years.
If Republicans try to pass a clean Continuing Resolution without all of the Democrat “bells and whistles” that will be so destructive to our Country, all it will do, after January 20th, is bring the mess of the Debt Limit into the Trump Administration, rather than allowing it to take place in the Biden Administration. Any Republican that would be so stupid as to do this should, and will, be Primaried. Everything should be done, and fully negotiated, prior to my taking Office on January 20th, 2025.
So to be clear, nothing can be done in the House without some Democrats. And even Jared Golden and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez aren't going to raise the debt limit for 4 years because Trump said so.
There is absolutely no way to negotiate a four-year budget anyway, so that's just stupid. But if Trump truly doesn't want to deal with the debt limit, which is an artificial construct Republicans use as a cudgel to beat Democrats into submission over their shitty poison pill budget items, then by all means, let's accommodate that.
Democrats should, with one strong voice, agree to Trump's terms and just eliminate the debt ceiling entirely forever and ever. No president ever again will be plagued with the Republican reindeer games to shut down government over stupid riders in a budget bill.
President Musk will not like this, which is why our current President (who has remained weirdly silent about Musk usurping the presidency) should absolutely grant Trump's request.
It would be a little Christmas miracle.
UPDATE: Some of you are saying this is a stupid idea, as if I'm simply proposing they raise the debt ceiling for Trump. When Dems are in the White House, Republicans use the debt ceiling as a cudgel. See Boehner, John, vs. Obama, Barack. No one but Republicans use it as a weapon because Democrats actually want to govern and are expected to govern. The entire notion of a debt ceiling is absurd, and is extra-constitutional. There is nothing in the constitution mandating this.
So why not take their toy away? Are you seriously suggesting that Democrats could use the debt ceiling as a weapon and not be completely buried by the Republican messaging machine? I just saw Chris Murphy say not to raise it because they'll pass billionaire tax cuts. As if they wouldn't anyway, with the debt ceiling. They'll raise it and then use it when Dems take over to make sure Dems never get a damn thing done.
So take their toys away. Make them accountable for the national debt, as if any ordinary voter gives a damn. But when Dems get blamed for the Great 2024 Christmas Shutdown, you can be sure no one will cheer their effort to hold Republicans to a reasonable amount of national debt and deficit.
UPDATE 2: This is why Dems should oppose this and support an immediate and permanent repeal of the debt ceiling altogether: Republicans now have a deal blessed by President Musk and VP Trump which suspends the debt ceiling altogether for 2 years, at which time Dems are likely to retake Congress and be once again subject to the cudgel.
UPDATE 3: Dems are a hell no on that "deal." And Dave Dayen is 100% right about this:
