Elizabeth Warren is not happy with the deal that raises the debt ceiling. She might vote in favor of it, but that is not an endorsement. A default would be much worse.
The progressive Massachusetts Senator said, “We must weigh the consequences of a default against the pain Republicans are trying impose on Americans who are hungry, students, the climate, and their constant enthusiasm to protect billionaire tax-cheats.”
Left-wing Democrats are raging at Warren’s ambivalence over a deal that would raise the debt limit until early 2025. Democrats had never wanted to even negotiate such a deal. Progressives face a choice that is not a win-win: either vote against raising the debt limit or support some spending restrictions and avoid default. Many people say that Joe Biden, despite their complaints, got the best possible deal.
Warren isn’t the only one who considers whether this deal is better than default. Even liberals who plan to vote against it acknowledge that the deal is better than default. It’s usually just Republicans who struggle to convince people to raise the debt ceiling, but this time it’s also Democrats.
It’s still a better feeling than Biden and Democratic leadership faced two weeks ago when Warren and dozens other progressives called for the president not to accede the Speaker Kevin McCarthy demands. Speaker Kevin McCarthy got modest budget caps, and new benefits restrictions. But Democrats would have to fight these battles anyway in the fall, when Congress negotiates their annual spending bill.
“This is one of the strangest pieces of legislation I have ever seen since I arrived here,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md. “Nobody appears to be in favor of the whole bill. “Everyone has a problem with some of it.” “But the macro alternative is indigestible.”
The relatively subdued opposition among progressives reflects the mood of a Democratic President in office. Few Democrats are willing to blame Biden’s bad negotiation for the party fights that could occur before a rematch with former President Donald Trump.
Many liberal Democrats also realize that with a divided government the big ideas for 2021 and 2020 are not achievable. They must instead protect the legislative accomplishments they have already achieved.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jajapal (D-Wash.) who opposed the bill said, “Let’s focus on the Republicans taking hostages.” “We do not vote against the president. We do not vote for default. “We are voting on behalf of the poor and working class people in this country, who were never held hostage.
This bill appears to be a nightmare for the progressives. It limits non-defense expenditures, approves a fossil energy project, stops the pause in student loan payments, and imposes a work requirement on those receiving SNAP benefits (also known as food stamps).
Biden and congressional leaders were fortunate that many leftists could still vote against the deal. Some progressives even wished to do away with all the uncertainty.
Sherrodbrown, a Democrat from Ohio, said that his support was not a difficult decision.
It’s a win for Biden that the debt agreement hasn’t sparked a liberal rebellion ahead of the presidential election in 2024. This is because he has carefully built a relationship with progressives, since the primary elections in 2020 when he tried to unify his party as Hillary Clinton failed to do four years ago.
The agreement on debt passed the House with 314 votes to 117, and more Democrats than Republicans voted in favor of it.
Biden’s strange bedfellows relationship with progressive legislators has continued since he took office. He teamed up with the left to push through party-line legislation, such as the $1.9 trillion Covid grant and the massive climate, health and tax laws passed by Democrats. When Biden rebuked his party for its “no negotiation” stance, he earned some goodwill that he may not have had ten years ago during his time as vice president.
Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) Many members of Jayapal’s caucus have voted against the debt bill. She and other progressive leaders did not sway members to vote against the bill. While progressive organizations have mixed results, some, like Our Revolution and Working Families Party, are urging their members to oppose this bill while others, such as Indivisible, are not actively lobbying on Capitol Hill.
Even liberals who voted “no” still wanted the debt package passed; Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-N.Y. said that even though she opposed the deal, “we are going to work together to ensure that we avoid default.”
“The Democrats must provide the votes to reach 218, and we do not have to provide any more.” “We should be clear that the bill does not reflect fundamental Democratic values,” said Rep. Ro Kazna, (D-Calif.).
Senate progressives could have a different outcome than their House counterparts. House Democrats can afford to lose votes in a deal that is negotiated by Republican leadership. In the Senate, however, the leaders hope they can hold back the defectors.
Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, said that people are ready to support the bill despite some disappointment. The looming default has a powerful force.
Several progressives have said that they are in constant contact with the White House. They talked with Steve Ricchetti (Biden’s counselor), John Podesta (climate adviser), Jeff Zients, Lael Briand, and others. The message that Biden’s staff is sending to the left, they said, is that the debt deal was not as bad as it could have been.
Khanna said that the White House understood “some would vote no”. Jayapal said that the White House appreciated the pushback by progressives, because it gave Biden more power.
Chris Coons, (D-Del.) said: “Gritting teeth is not the best description.” When asked to describe Senate Democrats who have reservations about the agreement, a Biden ally named Chris Coons responded that “gritting teeth” is not the right description. As members of my caucus gain clarity on the details of the final deal, the number will increase.
While they have criticised the deal, liberals in Congress say they appreciate, even if reluctantly, the fact that the president and his advisers were able to eliminate many of the GOP’s most conservative demands. Rep. Cori bush (D, Mo.) said that the alternative would have been “so hurtful to millions upon millions of people.” The alternative, Rep. span>Cori Bush/span> (D-Mo.) said, “would just have been so hurtful for millions upon millions people.” Bush is against the deal.
Warren is thinking about how to prevent this from happening again as she decides on her own vote.
“Democrats must make eliminating the debt ceiling a priority.” She said that the Republicans had shown her how they would use it a number of times. “And if that’s not something we learn from, then shame on us.”
