Trump subtly criticizes McConnell and Ryan for not tying debt ceiling to V.A. reform bill

WASHINGTON- President Donald Trump criticized Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) in a series of Thursday morning Tweets for not having included language to raise the debt ceiling in a popular V.A. reform bill the president signed into law Wednesday.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/900694112940290049

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/900695448465399809

Congress must raise the debt ceiling by mid-October to prevent the federal government from defaulting on its obligations.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in March wrote a letter to Congressional leaders  urging them to expeditiously act to raise the debt ceiling.

The letter was preceded by an announcement by lawmakers that Congress likely would not meet the March 16th statutory deadline.

Mnuchin said in the letter that the Treasury Department would in-turn be forced to suspend the sale of various state and local securities that are backed by the U.S. Treasury.

The national debt is fast approaching $20 trillion with China being the nation’s largest creditor.

Republicans will need assistance from Democratic lawmakers to raise the debt ceiling as members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus are likely to either oppose the initiative or demand massive spending cuts in exchange for their support.

McConnnell, who earlier this month reportedly engaged in a contentious feud with Trump, has said he will nevertheless continue to work with the president to advance the GOP legislative agenda.

Shortly before Trump’s Thursday morning Tweets, McConnell at a Kentucky fair, praised the president for his leadership.

Trump returned the favor by again Tweeting displeasure with McConnell.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/900714982823821313

This article is republished with permission from Talk Media News 

Bryan Renbaum

Bryan is an award-winning political journalist who has extensive experience covering Congress and Maryland state government.

His work includes coverage of the election of Donald Trump, the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and attorneys general William Barr and Jeff Sessions-as well as that of the Maryland General Assembly, Gov. Larry Hogan, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bryan has broken stories involving athletic and sexual assault scandals with the Baltimore Post-Examiner.

His original UMBC investigation gained international attention, was featured in People Magazine and he was interviewed by ABC’s “Good Morning America” and local radio stations. Bryan broke subsequent stories documenting UMBC’s omission of a sexual assault on their daily crime log and a federal investigation related to the university’s handling of an alleged sexual assault.