House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries put GOP leaders on notice Thursday that they can’t take Democratic votes for granted when it comes to lifting the statutory debt ceiling by this summer’s expected deadline and passing the annual spending bills needed to avert a partial government shutdown after March 14.
Jeffries, D-N.Y., used a morning news conference to take aim at GOP plans to use the partisan budget reconciliation process to push through potentially trillions of dollars in spending cuts to sensitive federal programs paired with extensions of tax cuts Democrats charge will mostly benefit the rich.
He suggested that if Republicans want to pass that filibuster-proof budget package without Democratic input, they may need to carry the votes on other must-do items as well.
