'They’ve got 3 choices': Senator gives ultimatum to colleagues wary of debt limit increase

Republicans in the Senate voted 52-48 on a budge blueprint pushing a one-two combo of steep tax cuts and spending increases for immigration enforcement and the military, while demanding a $5 trillion increase to the debt limit.

Every Republican except Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) voted for the measure, despite the ongoing economic freefall Thursday in U.S. and global markets.

Thursday's vote heralded about 50 hours of debate preceding an amendment process that Democrats will likely use to insert initiatives ideologically opposed by Republicans. This could include amendments barring tax cuts for wealthy income brackets and forbidding cuts to Medicaid, which is the proverbial “third rail” of US politics, according to public reaction at town halls and "tele-town halls."

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“You’re going to see a whole lot of amendments going after Donald Trump and the Republicans on a whole bunch of issues where they are favoring billionaires and against families,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters.

Republicans have the numbers to reject Democratic amendments and approve the budget resolution in the end. Providing the Republican-controlled House adopts the same measure, committees will need to tweak a bill that can survive the Senate's 60-vote threshold for passage.

Republicans make clear their budget adheres to Trump’s goal of extending his 2017 tax cuts, despite the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation predicting the cuts to cost $4.6 trillion. The new load is projected to increase the national debt from $36 trillion this year to $50 trillion by 2034. The $5 trillion debt limit increase would allow room for the tax cuts, which are expected to significantly increase the federal deficit.

“I know that there’s some senators that have more questions. But we’ve been doing this since January, and the side of the gallows concentrates the mind,” said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La). “The only way to get some senators to focus is to hold a vote, and then they’ve got three choices: They can vote ‘yes,’ they can vote ‘no,’ or they can jump the rail and run.”

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With Republican dominance in both the House and Senate after the last election, Democrats won’t have the votes to stop the bill unless at least four Republicans break ranks. Democrats may have a stronger public argument in the upcoming days as the pain of tariffs put a hit on middle-class purchasing power, while pointing to wealthy men like Trump playing golf as markets plunge.

The passage of the measure drew quick reaction online, with US Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) calling it “the most irresponsible tax bill in American history.”

"Faced with the undeniable truth that giveaways to the ultra-wealthy do not pay for themselves, Senate Republicans are blatantly lying about the true cost of their bill,” Boyle posted. “They are using a gimmick to pretend the permanent extension of their tax cut costs $0, when in reality we all know it costs trillions of dollars. This is b------t.”

Click here to read NBC's report in full.

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