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White House refuses to negotiate…

The White House is refusing to negotiate with Republicans on raising the debt ceiling, a risky position that Democrats think is a political winner, but that also reflects their scars from previous fights.

Taking the position that you won’t negotiate will allow Republicans to argue that a refusal by the White House to discuss spending cuts amid a rising debt crisis means President Biden is not acting in the public’s interest. 

But White House officials and Democrats believe they have much more leverage if they do not negotiate.

Here’s what’s behind the White House strategy. 

There’s a precedent 

One major reason the White House is confident in its position is that there have been numerous clean debt ceiling hikes in recent years, including when Donald Trump was president and Republicans controlled Congress. 

Congress has voted to increase the debt limit more than a dozen times in the last 25 years — including three times during the Trump administration.

In 2021, after Biden took office, Senate Republicans initially balked at …

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U.S. National Debt

The current U.S. national debt:
$34,573,199,545,841
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