Trump's push to raise federal borrowing limit to avoid friction with Democrats faces uphill battle
Trump would need to get all Senate and House Republicans on board with the plan, which some Republicans say is highly unlikely.
President Donald Trump is pushing Sen. Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to use a third budget reconciliation package to raise federal borrowing authority by another $5 trillion through the end of Trump's term in 2029.
The increase would avoid difficult negotiations with Democrats next year if they win control of the House or both chambers of Congress, The Hill reported. To achieve that, Trump would need to get all Senate and House Republicans on board with the plan, which some Republicans say is highly unlikely.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who warned that Social Security and Medicare will likely need to undergo significant reforms in the next few years to remain solvent, told The Hill that raising borrowing limits runs counter to efforts to curb the debt.
The national debt blasted past $40 trillion this month, and the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond reached 5.3 percent last week, the highest level since 2007, and the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hit 6.6 percent. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent responded by doubling the limit on how much government debt it is allowed to buy back from investors.
The move eased the turmoil on the bond market, but the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond climbed back to 5.2 percent on Thursday and the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond reached 4.7 percent.
Raising the debt limit to cover the final two years of Trump's term, Tillis told The Hill, would only give both parties more opportunity to ignore the nation's mounting debt problem.