House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told Newsmax on Monday that raising the debt ceiling will be part of the reconciliation package lawmakers will be working in the two weeks leading to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
The debt ceiling, the maximum the U.S. Treasury can borrow to pay the federal government’s debts, was suspended in June 2023 at $31.6 trillion in a deal brokered by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and President Joe Biden. The suspension ended Jan. 1, and with the national debt now at $36.3 trillion, the ceiling needs to be raised to prevent the government from defaulting on its loans.
“The debt limit will very likely be involved in this, not because we want to spend more, but we’ve got to raise that a little bit so that the bond markets and the stock market and everyone around the world sees that we are going to pay our obligations,” Johnson told “The Record With Greta Van Susteren.” “But our goal and our mandate is to cut the government, cut spending, root out fraud, waste, and abuse, and reduce the size and scope of government and all these regulations that will help fuel the economy.”
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