If Democrats win control of one or both chambers of Congress, the next debt ceiling vote could yield another standoff. Or, just maybe, it could be an unexpected moment of bipartisanship.
“I will not vote to simply kick the can down the road again and just raise the debt ceiling for another 18 months,” Rep. Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania tells TIME in an interview. “My next vote on the debt ceiling will only be to permanently reform it to end the dysfunction around it once and for all.” After nearly a decade in the House, it would be the Philadelphia Democrat's first time voting against raising the debt ceiling.
While lawmakers often frame debt ceiling votes as tests of fiscal restraint, raising the debt ceiling doesn’t actually authorize new spending or determine how much the government borrows in the first place. The debt ceiling caps the Treasury Department’s ability to borrow the money the U.S. government needs to pay for obligations Congress has already approved.
During Biden’s presidency, Trump urged his party to preserve the debt ceiling so they could use it as leverage in negotiations. Since returning to the White House, however, he has repeatedly called for eliminating the ceiling.
If Democrats win the House, Boyle is all but assured to be chairman of the House Budget Committee, which oversees the debt limit votes. He sees Trump’s willingness to act on the issue as a golden opportunity. His preferred approach would not abolish the ceiling outright, but largely transfer the responsibility of raising it to the Treasury secretary, who would be able to suspend the debt ceiling for up to two years. Congress would retain the ability to block the suspensions through a joint resolution that would have to be signed by the president.
The White House declined to comment on whether Trump would be open to working with Democrats to eliminate or reform the debt ceiling.
Twelve years later, Republicans again used the debt ceiling to extract concessions from a Democratic president. The 2023 agreement negotiated by Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden capped discretionary spending for two years, rescinded more than $27 billion in unspent pandemic aid and $1.4 billion in IRS funding, and tightened work requirements for certain SNAP recipients. In return, Biden secured a suspension of the debt ceiling through the end of 2024, removing the immediate threat of default. The agreement was estimated to reduce deficits by roughly $1.5 trillion over a decade, but it also temporarily spiked short-term borrowing costs and led to another credit downgrade by a different credit agency.
But the situation may be reversed next year, with Democrats potentially controlling one or both chambers of Congress and a Republican in the White House. Some Democrats are already discussing the prospect of extracting concessions from Trump to secure a debt ceiling hike. During a recent retreat of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Boyle was asked to give a presentation on the issue in order to encourage members to start thinking about the looming topic.
Preparing for a Democratic House and 2028
Boyle has already been laying the groundwork for a broader role on the House Budget Committee. During the current Congress, his office built a district-by-district database tracking the effects of Trump Administration policies on household costs and health coverage. The data played a central role in Democrats’ messaging strategy around healthcare and the 2025 government shutdown, as Democratic offices used the data to show voters in their districts how the expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits could affect them.
The potential chairmanship is also central to Boyle’s own calculation about his future in Congress. As Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman has grown increasingly critical of his own party and more comfortable with Republicans, many in the party doubt he could win a Democratic primary if he were to run for another term in 2028. Several House Democrats from Pennsylvania are said to be circling the seat, including Summer Lee, Chris Deluzio, and Boyle. Boyle tells TIME he plans to make a decision after the November elections. He sees the choice partly in terms of where he believes he would have the greatest influence over legislation if Democrats control Congress and the White House—is it better to be a freshman senator or chairman of a House committee that has become a central gateway for major fiscal legislation?
For now, with a Republican in the White House, Boyle is focused on the possibility of tackling a problem he has spent years trying to change, even as he acknowledges that the debt ceiling is unlikely to be a major issue for most voters.
“Truly, you know, I leave this place and I’ve done one thing—if you can tell me I’ve left here and I was a major reason why we permanently ended this debt ceiling dysfunction and danger, I’d be very proud of that.”
Hence then, the article about how democrats could work with trump to eliminate the debt ceiling for good was published today ( ) and is available on Time ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( How Democrats Could Work With Trump to Eliminate the Debt Ceiling For Good )
Also on site :