On Thursday, The Washington Post reported that President Trump is now in ongoing discussions with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to kill the requirement that Congress approve debt ceiling increases outright. The government spends an inordinate amount of money every year – between federal, state, and local spending, the government spends some 40% of the entire American annual GDP – but doesn’t actually pay for it through tax dollars. Instead, the government racks up trillions in debt: the federal government currently carries a $20 trillion debt.
So we borrow. We borrow money by selling bonds, and we use the cash to service that debt. But the executive branch can’t just borrow an unending amount of cash: Congress must approve. That’s because Article I of the Constitution grants Congress, not the presidency, the power of the purse. The debt ceiling debates are meant to create discussion and legislation around the notion of cutting back government in order to avoid taking out new debt every few months. Debt ceiling discussions are also used on a frequent basis to elicit concessions from the party in the White House.
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