House Democrats reveal secret plan to force vote on debt limit hike

House Democrats on Tuesday announced a secret plan to break through the partisan logjam that’s dogging talks over the debt ceiling and threatening a government default. 

The strategy, hatched in January and kept under wraps since then, is designed to force a vote on a debt limit hike even over the objections of Republican leaders, who both control the floor and are demanding trillions of dollars in spending cuts as a condition of preventing a default — cuts President Biden has refused to consider. 

On Tuesday, less than 24 hours after the Treasury Department warned that such a lapse could occur as soon as June 1, Democratic leaders unveiled their stealthy plan — a long-shot gambit, known as a discharge petition, that forces floor action on legislation that’s backed by a majority of House lawmakers.