Democrats Should Raise the Debt Ceiling—With a Catch

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Suddenly Donald Trump is worried about keeping the government running:

The White House is pushing congressional leaders to strike a spending deal and increase the debt limit in the next two or three weeks, jolted by a recent report that found the Treasury Department was running out of cash much faster than previously forecasted….White House officials have said the debt ceiling must be raised by early September to ensure the government can pay its bills. And spending on many federal programs expires at the end of September, requiring a separate deal to prevent a government shutdown.

Democrats should offer Trump a deal: they’ll support a debt ceiling increase immediately if Trump will sign a bill guaranteeing humanitarian aid and better conditions on the border. Immediately. They should let him know privately that he can spin this any way he wants. If he wants to claim it was his idea, fine. If he wants to say he hates it but is being extorted by Democrats, fine. Whatever. But it’s a limited time deal, so act fast.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And the essential ingredient that makes all this possible? Readers like you.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to devote the time and resources to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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