GOP leaders in debt limit quandary between Trump, fiscal hawks

Congressional GOP leaders are in a massive pickle as they weigh how to deal with a looming deadline to raise the debt ceiling.

President Trump is pressuring Republicans to not allow Democrats to use the borrowing limit as a leverage point. But fiscal hawks in the Republican conference could make any party-line debt limit bump impossible. And there is not a clear way to get Democratic support for a debt limit hike without significant concessions.

The latest idea being tossed around by Republicans is to include a debt limit increase in a package that pairs regular government funding and wildfire aid, in the hope that the wildfire aid would entice enough Democrats to make up for opposition from GOP fiscal hawks. That comes after an initial plan to include a debt ceiling hike in the party-line budget reconciliation bill that will encompass Trump’s ambitious legislative agenda, which would severely complicate the already-complex undertaking.