NATIONAL DEBT/OBAMA/POLITICS/TREASURY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The U.S. hit its debt limit again on Thursday [3-16-17]— a whopping $19.9 trillion this time — and the Treasury Department started using accounting maneuvers to buy Congress several months to raise it to avoid a potential federal government default.
The statutory limit on borrowing has become a partisan flash point in recent years. During the Obama administration, conservatives in Congress tried unsuccessfully to include spending cuts with any debt increases…
The debt limit needs to be raised to pay for spending already authorized by Congress, not for future spending.
Trump sided with hard-liners in 2013, publicly opposing an increase. ‘I cannot believe the Republicans are extending the debt ceiling — I am a Republican & I am embarrassed!’ he tweeted then.
But Trump’s views appeared to have changed now that he’s president and would have to deal with the ramifications of a default. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin ‘will work with Congress on a path forward,’ White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said this week.”
-Jim Puzzanghera, “Treasury Department is maneuvering to avoid a default until Congress acts,” The Los Angeles Times online, March 16, 2017