2017-09-07bloomberg.com

During an Oval Office meeting Wednesday, Trump accepted a proposal by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and his House counterpart, Nancy Pelosi, to tie a three-month suspension of the debt limit to a Hurricane Harvey relief measure -- and throw in a stopgap continuing resolution to fund the government into December... this latest deal may have simply handed Democrats the upper hand heading into a confrontational end-of-the-year negotiation.

The agreement sets up what could be a major fight in December over government funding that is expected to include Trump's proposed border wall with Mexico and his decision to end a program that lets young undocumented immigrants stay in the U.S., as well as perhaps the debt ceiling.''

...

The actual fight over the debt limit could slip into 2018, since the Treasury Department can deploy so-called extraordinary measures to extend its ability to operate. The drop-dead date could come as early as February if tax refund outlays are "relatively high," according to Jefferies economists Ward McCarthy and Thomas Simons.

...

"All this really means is that while it's unlikely the U.S. would ever default on Treasury bills, this move today just pushes this risk further out the curve," said Jerome Schneider, head of the short-term and funding desk at Pacific Investment Management Co., which manages $1.6 trillion in assets.

... back in 2013 when he was still considering a run for the White House, [Trump] wrote on Twitter, "The worst negotiators in history (otherwise known as Republicans) have just offered to suspend debt ceiling for four months. Pathetic!"



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