debt ceiling
Schumer declares a 'major victory' on the debt ceiling, but Nadler says it's incomplete
Sen. Chuck Schumer called it "a major victory for the president" when Republicans decided to punt their debt ceiling fight last week, but Rep. Jerry Nadler isn't so sure.
"I think we can declare a partial victory, but only very partial," Nadler told me shortly after the decision was announced on Friday. More
White House wins on the debt ceiling, exceeding Charlie Rangel's expectations
Republican leaders emerged from their retreat in Williamsburg today pledging to pass a short-term extension of the debt ceiling.
"Next week, we will authorize a three month temporary debt limit increase to give the Senate and House time to pass a budget," said House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a statement. More
(1)Now Nadler pushes a non-platinum way through the debt ceiling
Two weeks after Rep. Jerry Nadler touched off a boom of speculation about a trillion-dollar coin, he's still looking for a way around the debt ceiling.
Nadler told Capital earlier this month that the president should consider minting a platinum coin worth one trillion dollars, in order to avoid being held hostage by House Republicans who have signaled they intend to extract deep spending cuts to authorize payment of the nation's bills. More
(1)'No magic tricks': Obama says he won't negotiate (or work around) the debt ceiling this time
In what's expected to be the final press conference of his first term, President Obama pledged again not to negotiate over the debt ceiling, while dismissing executive actions that might unilaterally pay the nation's bills without congressional action.
"The issue here is whether or not America pays its bills," Obama said, when asked if he was considering an alternative plan. "We are not a deadbeat nation." More
(1)White House asked about trillion-dollar-coin, doesn't rule it out
After a week of online agitating for the White House press corps to ask about the trillion-dollar coin solution to the debt ceiling, NBC reporter Chuck Todd finally broached it to press secretary Jay Carney this afternoon.
"I would simply go back to the option here is for Congress to do its job and pay its bills," said Carney, recalling the situation last summer when the country careened toward the debt limit, saying, "let's not even pretend that's an okay scenario." More
(1)Republicans threaten a fight over Jack Lew, too
After announcing the controversial nominations of Chuck Hagel and John Brennan to head the Defense Department and C.I.A., respectively, President Obama is set to nominate his chief of staff, Jack Lew, as Treasury Secretary.
In theory, Lew, a native New Yorker, should be the easy one.
He brings an accomplished resume, including two stints as the director of the Office of Management and Budget, and he's a relatively low-key operator who doesn't make many headlines. More
Republicans target Nadler's trillion-dollar-coin, as Colbert and the 'Journal' join the debate
Rep. Jerry Nadler's endorsement of a trillion-dollar coin to dodge a fight over the debt ceiling has officially spread beyond the small group of liberal wonks who have used it to highlight the co-equal absurdity of Republican threats not to pay the nation's bills.
The Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and even Steven Colbert, analyzed the coin solution last night and this morning, as Republicans tried to use the coverage for campaign-related purposes. More
Paul Krugman joins the campaign for the trillion-dollar coin
The latest endorsement for the trillion-dollar coin idea comes from Paul Krugman, in a post titled "Be Ready to Mint that Coin." More
Sunday shows: Republicans are ready to fight over spending, Hagel and guns
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell made the rounds on Sunday morning to insist that taxes are no longer up for discussion, after last week's deal to avert the fiscal cliff, and signaled that Republicans are ready to fight over the debt ceiling. More
A trillion-dollar-coin idea takes off, and a former head of the U.S. Mint doesn't see why it shouldn't
Rep. Jerry Nadler proposed issuing a trillion-dollar coin to circumvent an impending fight over the federal debt ceiling, and the idea has taken off. More
(8)Looking to the next debt-ceiling fight, Nadler proposes a trillion-dollar coin trick
Rep. Jerrold Nadler has an admittedly "out of the ordinary" solution to the coming fight over the debt ceiling. More
(15)Bloomberg criticizes Obama's leadership style, but praises his reaction to Benghazi
This afternoon, Mayor Michael Bloomberg criticized President Barack Obama's leadership style. "When the president turns over to Congress the ability to write laws, we're in trouble," he said, during the question-and-answer portion of a speech at the Economic Club in Washington D.C. More
Dow in a disastrous dive; Yankees seek a Boston massacre
Each day, the New York tabloids vie to sell readers at the newsstands on outrageous headlines, dramatic photography, and, occasionally, great reporting. Who is today's winner? More
(1)D.C. jerks ruin stock market, Teixeira breaks record for nerds, racist Mount Carmel principal draws armed protest
Each day, the New York tabloids vie to sell readers at the newsstands on outrageous headlines, dramatic photography, and, occasionally, great reporting. Who is today's winner? More
(1)F.A.Q.: How sad should Democrats be about Barack Obama right now?
It's got to be a rough moment for anyone who's spent the last few years making the case that the last thing the country should be doing now is cutting spending. So just seeing a deal that does that—with no revenue component, no new effort at stimulus, etc.—is, unsurpisingly, maddening for him.
But it can't really be a shock that it came to this. It's not like that kind of Keynesian agenda has been on the radar in D.C. since 11/10 (or earlier). We have a Tea Party Congress now, and this is what you get with a Tea party Congress. More
