The Senate GOP doesn't have the votes to pass the bill to raise the debt ceiling, which must be passed by March 15 before the government shuts down.
Semafor's Burgess Everett posted on X, "Senate Republicans are essentially rejecting the House GOP's approach of raising the debt ceiling as part of a tax/border/defense megabit. This is likely to be the most consequential fight on the Hill this year. Thune has told Rs it probably can't pass in reconciliation."
President Donald Trump said that he wanted "one big beautiful bill," but enough Republican Senators are against it that the bill can't pass as it stands.
The full report explained that Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is against any bill that raises the debt ceiling by $4 trillion, but indicated that he would support the tax cuts.
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Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) told Semafor that trying to combine the bills into one, “might just sabotage the whole bill.”
Another GOP Senator who asked not to be named to speak freely told Semafor, “There’s a lot of angst generally about using reconciliation for debt ceiling for a variety of reasons. I think that’s gonna be hard to do. You gotta rely on Republican votes and Republican votes alone. And there is so much bound up in that that I don’t see reconciliation as a likely vehicle for raising the debt ceiling.”
Everett said on X that Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) wants larger spending cuts if he agrees to raise the debt ceiling.
The report also said that it isn't the best time for Trump to demand things from lawmakers, as they're facing a lot of anger from constituents back home over government spending and staff cuts. NBC News reported last week that the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) told GOP House members to stop holding in-person town hall meetings.
When he came into office, Trump created the "Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)" by executive order. That initiative has been behind the upheaval and dismantling of government agencies. Websites, grants, programs, and employees have been cut or frozen under the promise that Trump will save taxpayers trillions.
More concerning to the Senators, however, is that the financial markets continued to fall Wednesday, for the third day in a row amid Trump's trade war with Mexico, Canada, and China.
"It all comes as stock markets are down, economic uncertainty is up and everyone is watching President Donald Trump’s tariff regime. Most lawmakers think the debt ceiling will need to be raised sometime around May or June," the report said.
