Emily Kowalik ‘18
Opinions Editor
At a recent White House meeting, with congressional leaders from both parties, President Donald Trump dumbfounded fellow Republicans by suddenly aligning himself with Democrats on a series of key fiscal issues. Trump’s surprise stance upended sensitive negotiations over the debt ceiling and further weakened his already fragile relationship with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan.
This news, however, should come as no surprise, as Trump has made his mark time and time again as a man who has few allegiances and burns many bridges. This is just the latest in a series of steps Trump has taken to distance himself from his party in an attempt to deflect blame for a summer of gridlock and failed goals on Capitol Hill.
Republican leaders were bewildered by the deal Trump made with “Chuck and Nancy,” as Trump referred to Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), regarding a short-term plan to fund the government and another plan to raise its borrowing limit this month.
In siding with the Democrats, Trump overrode his own treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, who was in the middle of an argument for a longer-term plan when the president interrupted him and disagreed. Of his meeting Trump told reporters, “We had a very good meeting with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer…We agreed to a three-month extension on debt ceiling, which they consider to be sacred — very important.” Trump was “in deal-cutting mode,” according to those at the meeting.
By setting the stage for a second debt-ceiling vote in December — a vote for which Republicans will almost certainly require Democratic votes to avoid default — Democrats will increase their leverage on several issues, including the protection of Dreamers and securing funds to help stabilize health-care markets.
Following the meeting with the president, McConnell said he would add a provision which would extend government funding the debt limit through to mid-December to legislation passed by the House last week which provides $7.85 billion in Hurricane Harvey relief. McConnell introduced that legislation late last Wednesday.
Of the meeting with the president, McConnell told reporters, “The president agreed with Senator Schumer and Congresswoman Pelosi to do a three-month [funding extension] and a debt ceiling into December, and that’s what I will be offering, based on the president’s decision, to the bill … The President can speak for himself, but his feeling was that we needed to come together to not create a picture of divisiveness at a time of genuine national crisis.”
“We all do it differently,” Sessions said. “I think it was an overly generous answer that he gave our friends the Democrats. But I’m not going to be critical of my president. I support my president.”
In any case, the deal Trump made with the Democrats effectively postpones the argument over fiscal issues until December and the deals cut then will likely also include a decision on whether to fund Trump’s long-promised wall on the US-Mexico border.
