What to Know in Washington: Manchin Wants Deal on Debt Ceiling

Sen. Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat, said he wants his party to seek a deal with Republicans to avert a catastrophic US debt default, a position that puts him squarely at odds with President Joe Biden.

The two parties are currently at a standoff over the debt ceiling, which threatens to upend financial markets sometime after early June, when the US may default on a payment obligation.

Manchin (W.Va.) said he already discussed a possible compromise with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), whose fractious caucus has sought to extract concrete spending cuts and a balanced budget plan in exchange for any increase in the debt ceiling.

Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg

Manchin at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on Nov. 29, 2022.

Manchin, speaking to Fox Business in Davos, Switzerland, where he’s attending the World Economic Forum, said he wants to package a debt ceiling increase with votes to create special commissions to examine shoring up the Social Security and Medicare trust funds, as well as another intended to reduce the overall US debt.

“We have to work together. It has to be bipartisan and it has always been bipartisan as far as the debt ceiling,” Manchin said. “I think what we have to do is realize we have a problem, we have a debt problem.”

Manchin said he supports the Trust Act, a proposal by Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) to impanel commissions to recommend solutions to the eventual insolvency of the Medicare and Social Security trust funds. Current projections are that Social Security will not be able to pay full benefits after 2035 and Medicare after 2028, without either changes to the benefit structure or increased revenue. Erik Wasson details Manchin’s pitch.

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Happening on the Hill

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Around the Administration

BIDEN’S SCHEDULE

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Yellen Woos Africa as US Vies for Influence With China, Russia

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, declaring that African can help shape the future of the global economy, will set out why the Biden administration intends to elevate its focus on the continent over the next two years in a speech she’s slated to deliver Friday in Dakar, Senegal.

Yellen, Liu Avoid Airing Complaints as US-China Tone Warms

Yellen and China’s Vice Premier Liu He privately discussed points of disagreement during a break from official proceedings in their first face-to-face meeting, according to a senior Treasury official, a sign that the world’s top economies are seeking to downplay tensions and spotlight a constructive tone in their discussions.

Biden Revives a Rule That Trump Derided as ‘Abolish the Suburbs’

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FTX Debacle Shows Risks in Current CFTC Rulebook, Official Says

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IRS Unit Chief Says Employee Retention Credit ‘Ripe’ With Fraud

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Noncompetes Ban Dangles Promise of Better Pay Without Inflation

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Religious Accommodation Test on Thin Ice With Justices’ New Case

A decades-old US Supreme Court precedent making it easy for businesses to deny workers’ religious accommodation requests will be under the microscope now that the justices have a vehicle to reevaluate the standard.

To contact the reporters on this story: Giuseppe Macri in Washington at gmacri@bgov.com; Brandon Lee in Washington at blee@bgov.com