Congressional GOP leaders are coalescing behind President Donald J. Trump’s demand that their massive, party-line bill include a debt limit increase. But it’s unclear if Senate Republicans will have the votes to make it happen. The plans were largely cemented during a White House meeting Tuesday with the two most senior Republicans in both chambers, the top tax writers and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, though Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) said his conference still needed to make a final decision. The House-approved budget resolution, which would set the parameters for a reconciliation bill, would have Congress raise the debt ceiling as part of that bill, while the Senate’s budget blueprint would not. Privately, however, GOP lawmakers acknowledge they may eventually need to strip out the debt limit measure from the massive bill to extend tax cuts, beef up border security and expand domestic energy production — especially if the U.S. approaches the debt cliff before lawmakers can come to an agreement. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that if the debt limit remains unchanged, the government’s ability to borrow using extraordinary measures will probably be exhausted in August or September 2025,” the nonpartisan budget office said this morning.
The Senate is expected to hold a number of confirmation votes today including: confirmation of Executive Calendar #39, James Bishop, of North Carolina, to be Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget, confirmation of Executive Calendar #48, Aaron Reitz, of Texas, to be an Assistant Attorney General, and confirmation of Executive Calendar #51, Michael Faulkender, of Maryland, to be Deputy Secretary of the Treasury. The Senate is also expected to take up: Motion to proceed and final passage of H.J.Res.25, disapproving the rule submitted by the Internal Revenue Service relating to “Gross Proceeds Reporting by Brokers That Regularly Provide Services Effectuating Digital Asset Sales,” and Motion to proceed to S.J.Res.18, disapproving the rule submitted by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection relating to “Overdraft Lending: Very Large Financial Institutions.”
The House is out today for the funeral of Representative Raúl Grijalva (D-Arizona). When it reconvenes tomorrow it is expected to consider Pursuant to a Rule, H.J. Res. 75 – Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of Energy relating to “Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Commercial Refrigerators, Freezers, and Refrigerator-Freezers.”
