Lindsey Graham: ‘I’m Upset’ with Republicans for Caving on Debt Ceiling 

Sen. Lindsey Graham told a reporter Thursday he is “upset” with Republicans for caving on debt ceiling negotiations.

“I’m upset with us [Republicans] because we had a strategy to make them [Democrats] pay a price to raise the debt ceiling,” a Fox News reporter tweeted Graham’s comments. “We blinked and why? Because two people are normally made more or threatening to change the rules of the Senate,” he said of Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ).

“I don’t understand why we’re folding here at the end,” Graham told another reporter. “This is a complete capitulation and the argument made yesterday was well this may be more pressure than two Democratic senators can stand regarding changing the filibuster rules. That to me is not a very good reason.”

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) reportedly balked Wednesday from forcing the Democrats to raise the debt ceiling in a second reconciliation package due to fears the filibuster power would be removed by 50 Senate Democrat votes, apparently led by Manchin and Sinema.

“We have reached agreement to extend the debt ceiling through early December, and it is my hope we can get this done today,” Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Thursday upon striking a deal with McConnell.

Upon the announcement, Democrats were relieved. Democrats believe the debt limit increase will give them more operating room to pass President Biden’s $3.5 trillion reconciliation package.

“We have more time to work it out in a rational basis,” Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) told an NBC News reporter. “Obviously the Republicans were acting irresponsibly. They were putting the full faith and credit of the United States at risk–It gives us time through December to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill.”

“It gives us time to pass the reconciliation bill that has all of the funding in for child care, for free community college, to deal with the climate crisis,” Markey said of the far-left wish list.

McConnell’s decision to cave to Democrats’ filibuster nuke threats is balanced with a $480 billion number (debt ceiling increase), which will reportedly be used in the 2022 midterms against Democrats. It is unknown how that number will be a useful tool for Republicans.

Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø.