Members of President Donald Trump’s own party could complicate his effort to avoid a standoff over extending the nation’s borrowing limit — which means a complication for Trump’s legislative plans overall as he manages big promises and small Republican congressional majorities.
A dozen GOP senators and 49 House Republicans — more than 20% of each conference — have never previously voted for a law raising the debt ceiling, according to an analysis of roll call votes and data from the Congressional Research Service.
While many GOP lawmakers have supported debt ceiling increases as part of messaging votes that were destined to fail, this group suggests there is a sizable number of Republicans who may be more hesitant to support increases that could actually take effect.
That means raising the debt limit, a must-do for Trump, may not be as simple as just packaging an increase with the “one big, beautiful bill” that Trump wants to use as the main vehicle for his second-term agenda, since that is unlikely to attract much in the way of Democratic support.
Those internal divisions in the GOP appear to have driven some discussions about attaching a debt limit increase to disaster assistance for California following the recent devastating wildfires, rather than a broader GOP package. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday that attaching a debt limit increase to California aid is “one of the things we’re talking about.”
Republicans in recent years have used the debt ceiling as a negotiating tool to push for broader spending cuts. The debt ceiling sets the amount after which the Treasury Department can no longer borrow money to pay the country’s bills, and failing to extend it could result in a national default.
Trump is no stranger to opposition from his own party in debt ceiling negotiations, and he isn’t keen on rehashing the issue as he returns to the White House. Congress voted to suspend the debt limit three times during Trump’s first term as part of broader spending bills, and all three measures drew a significant amount of GOP opposition.
Looking to avoid another standoff over the issue before he took office, Trump made an ill-fated effort last month to have Republicans extend the debt limit as part of a year-end government funding package. He also called for abolishing the debt ceiling altogether, but some deficit hawks are not on board.
“Don’t do away with it. It’s the only leverage we have,” said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who also said he would be open to negotiating an increase in the debt ceiling if it is coupled with broader spending cuts.
Johnson is one of the lawmakers who have never voted for a law that raised the debt ceiling.
“No,” said another one of those Republicans, Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, when asked in a brief Capitol interview if he is open to abolishing the debt ceiling.
“If we look at the debt ceiling, there should be cuts. It’s that simple,” Roy said. “You shouldn’t borrow more money without getting your fiscal house in order.”
Roy noted he and his colleagues in the conservative House Freedom Caucus recently released a proposal saying they could support a two-year debt limit increase if congressional leaders committed to “dollar-for-dollar savings over 10 years.”
“When I’ve heard the president speak, his deal is, ‘Let’s get the agenda done.’ That’s kind of where I am,” Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., a former Freedom Caucus chairman, told reporters Wednesday. “But I also don’t want to leave us with an even greater national debt issue than what we have now. So I would like to see us reduce spending.”
Biggs noted that he and Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., are the only members of the GOP conference who have never supported any measure to raise the debt ceiling, not even a messaging bill that had no chance of becoming law.
Biggs was also one of 38 House Republicans who voted against a Trump-backed government funding measure in December that would have extended the debt limit until Jan. 30, 2027, a sign that Trump still faces opposition within his own party on the issue.
Those internal divisions persist as lawmakers look for a path forward on the debt ceiling, with Biggs acknowledging that some Republicans would likely oppose attaching a debt ceiling increase or suspension to a disaster aid package for California.
“If leadership decides to attach it to disaster funding, it’s because they’re comfortable with Democrat votes,” Biggs said.
“If they want to actually try bending the spending arc down, then they’ll put in the reconciliation package,” Biggs added, referring to the tool Republicans are looking to use to advance Trump’s top legislative priorities, which would bypass a procedural hurdle in the Senate and allow the measure to pass with Republican votes alone.
Even as some Republicans are balking at Trump’s proposal to abolish the debt ceiling, some lawmakers who have not supported past debt ceiling increases could be open to it.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told NBC News in a recent interview that he has not supported past debt ceiling increases because those measures included spending that he opposed. Hawley said abolishing the debt limit is “an interesting idea under the right circumstances,” noting Trump raised the issue in a meeting with GOP senators earlier this month.
“I think it gets used a lot as a political football,” Hawley said. “I’m not sure that I’ve seen it accomplish a whole lot.”
This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:
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