House Democrats are advancing in a long-shot effort to make an end run around House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and raise the debt ceiling with the help of moderate Republicans.
An obscure bit of congressional procedure called a discharge petition was formally filed Tuesday by Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA), who affixed his name as the first signature with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) signing on shortly afterwards.
Democratic leadership says “all Members are urged to sign the petition as soon as possible today.”
A discharge petition would theoretically allow a handful of moderate Republicans to team up with Democrats and put a bill to raise the debt ceiling up for a full House vote — even over the objections of McCarthy.
It is a maneuver that even its proponents acknowledge has long odds of success - and it has virtually no chance of raising the limit by June 1. Nevertheless, it is another example of the growing unrest from liberal Democrats on the direction of the debt talks in recent days.
“Filing this petition does not preclude a deal or prevent other action – but it does create flexibility so Congress can come together to act," Boyle said in a statement.
Wednesday’s announcement comes after a high-stakes meeting Tuesday where the White House seemed to drop its previous pretense that the debt ceiling was not to be negotiated over. The two sides agreed to direct negotiations between a team of White House aides and representatives for McCarthy.
President Biden sought to quell some of the unrest from his left flank in a speech Wednesday morning, maintaining that he is still only negotiating over "the outlines of a budget" and not a default.
He said he is open to discussing additional work requirements for social programs but would not agree to "anything of any consequence" beyond what already is the law.
"I am confident that we will get the agreement on the budget and American will not default," he added before departing for a trip to Japan.
Inside the legislative maneuver
It was about two weeks ago that Democrats revealed their efforts to use the discharge petition to force a vote via a shell bill that had been filed back in January.
Congressional experts have long warned that the onerous rules around the procedure make it unlikely to succeed. A bill is required to be idling in committee for 30 legislative days and then must wait an additional 7 days before signatures can be gathered.
Democrats have now navigated those first two steps but now face an uphill climb to get 218 House members - Democrats would need at least 5 Republicans to join them - for a bill that has yet to be written.
Then, even if they succeed, another required wait of 7 legislative days is likely needed. That additional restriction would almost surely mean the bill would still be idling past a deadline of June 1 when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said default it possible.
More openness to unilateral measures
The maneuver comes as more and more Democrats worry that Republicans could be on the verge of successfully using the possible crisis to roll back some of Biden’s accomplishments from his first two years in office.
Leading progressive Democrats like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) both told Axios this week that Biden’s approach to the process risked weakening him if more and more Republican priorities get put on the table.
Activists say that, at the very least, raising revenue needs to be discussed as the face-to-face talks continue. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) told Yahoo Finance in an interview Tuesday “let's start by closing 12 loopholes that President Biden identified," a reference to a report that the White House has floated ideas to close tax loopholes which were quickly rejected by the GOP.
Biden, meanwhile, hasn’t discussed the tax proposals with reporters or tried publicly to get them re-inserted in talks, with the overall discussions in recent days focused on spending cuts.
The frustration has pushed more and more openness on the left to dramatic unilateral measures from invoking the 14th Amendment to minting a trillion-dollar coin.
A move to 14th amendment and simply declare the debt limit unconstitutional would likely kick off chaos but “taking the time honored tradition of Republican hostage taking around the debt ceiling off the table would be a huge benefit both in this fight, but forevermore,” said Lindsay Owens, executive director of a progressive group called the Groundwork Collaborative, in an interview Tuesday.
Economist Mark Zandi has previously said the option could lead to a recession but might also soon be the best option.
As for the discharge petition idea, influential Congressman James Clyburn (D-SC) said on MSNBC Tuesday night that the idea “should be on the table” in the days ahead. The former top House vote counter said the first order of business will be getting all 213 Democrats on board before they can turn to the other side of the aisle.
Ben Werschkul is Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.
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