Trump urges GOP leaders to boost debt ceiling by $5 trillion via reconciliation
President Trump is asking Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson to use a third reconciliation bill to raise the borrowing limit by $5 trillion through 2029, but many Republicans doubt the plan’s viability.
President Donald Trump is lobbying Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson to incorporate a $5 trillion boost to the federal borrowing limit into a third budget reconciliation bill, covering the remainder of his term through 2029. The strategy is intended to avoid contentious debt-limit talks with Democrats should they control the House or both chambers next year. Achieving the plan would require unanimous support from Republican members of both chambers, a prospect many consider unlikely.
Senator Thom Tillis warned that expanding the ceiling runs counter to debt-reduction goals and could postpone needed reforms to Social Security and Medicare. Meanwhile, the national debt has just passed $40 trillion, and Treasury yields have risen to their highest levels since 2007. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tried to calm markets by doubling the Treasury’s authority to buy back debt, but yields on 30-year and 10-year bonds have stayed near 5.2% and 4.7% respectively. Opponents contend that the increase would merely give both parties more leeway to ignore the mounting fiscal problem.
Why it matters
The proposal could reshape how the U.S. manages its debt ceiling and affect future fiscal negotiations.
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