Trump agrees to short-term debt hike, angering GOP leadership
President Trump on Wednesday agreed to congressional Democrats' request for a three-month debt limit increase, Politico reported. Under the agreement, the government will be funded through Dec. 15, positioning Congress for another debt ceiling debate at the end of the year. The short-term package will also include relief funding for victims of Hurricane Harvey.
The proposal had no support from Republican leaders, who are now reportedly "furious" that Trump gave in to Democrats' demands in "just a few hours," Politico said. Earlier Wednesday, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) called Democratic leaders' proposal a "ridiculous idea" and accused them of trying to "play politics" by attaching Harvey relief to raising the debt ceiling.
GOP leaders were pushing to raise the debt ceiling through late 2018 to avoid further votes on the matter. Politico reported that Democrats wanted a shorter-term solution to "preserve their leverage later this year on other issues," as Republicans will likely need "significant Democratic support on the spending and debt legislation."
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