President Trump stunned Republican leaders Wednesday by siding with Democrats during a conversation about linking Hurricane Harvey relief to a three-month debt limit increase. Trump didn't just side with Democrats, though — he reportedly broke a stalemate when congressional leaders were "ready to disagree," Business Insider writes:
According to a source briefed on the meeting, the leaders were deadlocked over the length of the debt ceiling extension. [...]As the leaders appeared ready to agree to disagree, the source said, Trump interjected and said the group should go with a three-month debt ceiling raise and a three-month continuing resolution.Republicans would have preferred a longer extension to avoid another fight in December. Democrats could use the opportunity as leverage to attach a provision aimed at codifying into law the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals immigration program, which the Trump administration said Tuesday would be phased out over the next six months. [Business Insider]
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. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) just hours earlier had called Democratic leaders' proposal a "ridiculous idea" and accused them of trying to "play politics" by attaching Harvey relief to raising the debt ceiling.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The NCAA is a 'billion-dollar sports behemoth' that 'should not be a nonprofit'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump picks conservative BLS critic to lead BLSspeed read He has nominated the Heritage Foundation's E.J. Antoni to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics
-
What's a pocket rescission and can Trump use one?The Explainer The White House may try to use an obscure and prohibited trick to halt more spending
-
Trump picks conservative BLS critic to lead BLS
speed read He has nominated the Heritage Foundation's E.J. Antoni to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics
-
Trump takes over DC police, deploys National GuardSpeed Read The president blames the takeover on rising crime, though official figures contradict this concern
-
Trump sends FBI to patrol DC, despite falling crimeSpeed Read Washington, D.C., 'has become one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the world,' Trump said
-
Trump officials reinstating 2 Confederate monumentsSpeed Read The administration has plans to 'restore Confederate names and symbols' discarded in the wake of George Floyd's 2020 murder
-
Trump nominates Powell critic for vacant Fed seatspeed read Stephen Miran, the chair of Trump's Council of Economic Advisers and a fellow critic of Fed chair Jerome Powell, has been nominated to fill a seat on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors
-
ICE scraps age limits amid hiring pushSpeed Read Anyone 18 or older can now apply to be an ICE agent
-
Trump's global tariffs take effect, with new additionsSpeed Read Tariffs on more than 90 US trading partners went into effect, escalating the global trade war
-
House committee subpoenas Epstein filesSpeed Read The House Oversight Committee has issued a subpoena to the Justice Department for its Jeffrey Epstein files with an Aug. 19 deadline
