This post was originally published on this site
As Washington deals with lifting the U.S. federal borrowing limit again, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday vowed not to help with the maneuver if Democrats stick with their plan to pass a $3.5 trillion package through a simple majority vote.
“If our colleagues want to ram through yet another reckless taxing and spending spree without our input — if they want all this spending and debt to be their signature legacy — they should leap at the chance to own every bit of it,” McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said in a speech on the Senate floor.
“So let me make something perfectly clear: If they don’t need or want our input, they won’t get our help. They won’t get our help with the debt-limit increase that these reckless plans will require.”
As a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill advances in the 50-50 Senate this week with support from McConnell and some other Republicans, Democrats also are aiming to enact their $3.5 trillion package focused on “human infrastructure” and their other priorities through a process known as budget reconciliation, which only requires a simple majority vote.
Stock markets
SPX,
typically have confidence that Washington can reach deals to avoid government shutdowns and defaults on debt, although a debt-ceiling standoff in 2011 led to market volatility and a downgrade on U.S. sovereign debt.
See: Can Democrats raise the debt ceiling alone and avert a market meltdown?
“They can raise the debt ceiling, and if it’s raised, they will do it,” McConnell also said on Thursday.
U.S. stocks
DJIA,
were gaining on Thursday, as weekly jobless claims fell slightly and investors began positioning for the monthly jobs report on Friday.
