President-elect Donald Trump's push for Republican lawmakers to eliminate the debt ceiling or abolish it altogether as part of government spending negotiations has hit a snag as Democrats oppose it and many GOP hard-liners consider voting to raise it is a nonstarter, reported Axios.
"GOP extremists want House Democrats to raise the debt ceiling so that House Republicans can lower the amount of your Social Security check. Hard pass," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., wrote on Bluesky, a social media platform.
Added Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md.: "In order to give massive endless tax cuts to Elon Musk and other billionaire oligarchs? I don't know — there might be some wariness to that."
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, a top GOP appropriator, said Wednesday she was taken aback by Trump's demand, telling reporters she was "surprised" the president-elect "wants to move the debt limit vote up this year."
"I don't know his rationale," she added.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, on Thursday said his position on the matter was "simple."
"I am not going to raise or suspend the debt ceiling (racking up more debt) without significant & real spending cuts attached to it. I've been negotiating to that end. No apologies," he wrote on X.
The Axios report comes as lawmakers are deeply divided over the path ahead for a spending bill.
The debt limit is the legal cap on how much debt the federal government is allowed to incur at any point.
Trump signed three debt ceiling extensions into law during his first term.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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