Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma said on Thursday that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer used the debt limit as leverage against the Trump-endorsed plan.
During an appearance on Laura Ingraham’s “The Ingraham Angle,” Mullin criticized Schumer for allegedly manipulating the debt ceiling negotiations to undermine President-elect Donald Trump’s influence. Mullin also criticized the House Republican members who helped tank the spending bill.
“What he’s wanting to do is put it as part of reconciliation. What he doesn’t realize is that Schumer is wanting to hold the debt limit over President Trump’s head to negotiate on reconciliation because the Republicans in the Senate cannot pass reconciliation without having Democrat support because it takes 60 votes. We can’t do it with just 51, we have to have 60,” Mullin told Ingraham when asked about Republican Texas Rep. Chip Roy’s stance on the issue.
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“Keep in mind, President Trump is the art of the deal maker. He understands what it’s going to take to do the job. He’s forward-thinking because he’s been there before. He knows that if he doesn’t get this debt limit now, that this is going to be held over his head and he’s going to be blamed for possibly defaulting on our debt.”
Defying party lines, 38 Republicans, including Roy, opposed the measure due to concerns over raising the debt ceiling without major spending reductions and the inclusion of $110 billion in unfunded disaster aid.
Mullin added that Schumer’s tactics threaten not only political stability but also the economic health of the nation.
“Now think about that happens. You’re going to see the stock market crash. You’re going to see the currency devalue. What President Trump ran on is getting America going again for the American people, get the economy going,” Mullin said.
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The senator’s frustrations grew as he talked about the need to return to the negotiating table. With House Republicans divided and some aligning with Schumer’s push for spending cuts as a condition for raising the debt ceiling, Wayne said he sees a tough road ahead.
“When we go back, we’re going to have to negotiate because the House Republicans are being held hostage now by a group of people. I hate to say it because what they’re saying philosophically is not wrong,” Mullin said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson’s stopgap funding proposal failed in a 233-174 vote on Thursday evening. Prior to the vote, Trump called on Republican and Democratic lawmakers to vote “YES” on the new spending bill.
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Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp-Perez of Washington and Rep. Kathy Castor of Florida were the only Democrats who supported the measure. The revised spending package, condensed to 116 pages from over 1,500, aims to fund the government through March 2025 and extend the debt ceiling to 2027.
The bill did not receive the necessary two-thirds majority required to pass under the suspension of the rules. Government funding is scheduled to run out on Friday night.
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First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation