As the White House statement suggested earlier, the GOP gambit for a "clean" 6-week debt limit extension, already accepted as a given by the market, may not be able to pass unless the Republicans fold some more, according to the latest news out of The Hill which reports that [4]"Senate Democrats could reject a House GOP proposal to extend the nation’s debt ceiling by a few weeks, saying any short-term debt-limit increase should also reopen the government." This step was to be expected: the House Republicans are once again in disarray and this is the perfect time to demand even more concessions. However, with their political credibility, and capital, already at record lows, will the republicans agree to not only fold on the debt ceiling, albeit temporarily, but also passing a Continuing Resolution - which as a reminder was the source of contention all along?
More from The Hill [4]:
A senior Senate Democratic aide said “don’t assume” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will accept the six-week debt-limit extension House Republicans are coalescing around.
Reid again called on Republicans to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling and pledged Democrats would then negotiate with them.
“We’ll have a conversation with them about anything. Open the government, let us pay our bills,” he said Thursday morning on the Senate floor.
Even if House Republicans pass a clean short-term debt-limit increase, one without spending cuts attached, Senate Democrats might balk if it leaves important federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency mostly shuttered.
In other words, while stocks have retraced the entire shutdown drama slide, near-term maturing Bills still have not.
[5]
And if there is one thing that is a stumbling block, this may well be it. Stay tuned for even more melodrama from the House Republicans: will they fold some more, or won't they?