‘Non-starter’: Dems tangle over how to raise the debt ceiling

Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin says raising the debt ceiling via budget reconciliation is a “non-starter” that simply takes too long. Across the Capitol, his House counterpart Steny Hoyer put it differently: “Reconciliation is one option and that’s on the table.”

Those mixed messages underscore the confusion among congressional Democrats about how the majority party and its slim majorities will avoid a potential default just three weeks away. Senate Republicans sank Democrats' plan to fund the government into December and kick the debt limit through the 2022 midterms, and now they are about to block an effort from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to lift the debt ceiling by a majority vote on Tuesday.