Meet the House Republicans Who Democrats Hope Will Defect on the Debt Limit
WASHINGTON — House Democrats who this week began a long-shot bid attempting to force a debt limit increase bill to the floor are pinning their hopes not just on a convoluted legislative gambit, but also on another highly improbable feat: getting a small group of Republicans to cross party lines and join them.
While they concede it faces long odds, Democrats privately argue there is a path to pulling it off — or at least to coming close enough that Republicans feel compelled to cut a deal with them to head off a catastrophic default.
It is based on the belief that some Republican lawmakers — especially among the 18 who represent districts that President Biden won in 2020 — could be persuaded to vote with Democrats to pass an 11th-hour debt limit increase that would pull the nation from the brink of financial ruin.
“There are 18 House Republicans who like to call themselves ‘moderates,’” said Representative Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania, the top Democrat on the Budget Committee. “Here’s a chance for them to really put their money where their mouth is. Join with House Democrats to ensure we don’t suffer the first-ever default in American history.”
Source: The New York Times
