While Republicans are still contemplating the threat of a government shutdown to defund Obamacare, they’re also considering taking the debt ceiling hostage to delay Obamacare.
On Tuesday, during a closed-door meeting with Republicans, Cantor announced that the party won’t support raising the nation’s $16.7 trillion borrowing limit unless President Obama agrees to a one-year delay of the health care law.
Obama has repeatedly said that he would not negotiate over the debt ceiling extension, though Republican leadership insists that any increase must be accompanied by cuts to the “the mandatory side” of the ledger, impacting programs like Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and the Affordable Care Act. Tuesday marks the first time Republicans attached a specific policy request to the ceiling vote, proposing to effectively repeal the ACA for a full year — a proposition that could actually increase the deficit by more than $20 billion dollars.
They want to defund it. They want to delay it. They want to drown it in a bathtub.
Who can keep track?