Republicans look to force Democrats to raise debt ceiling on their own

Republicans are aiming to force Democrats to raise the debt ceiling on their own, without any GOP help, hoping that such a vote would solidify voter perceptions of Democrats as irresponsible spenders. 

Senate Democrats released a fiscal year 2022 budget resolution on Monday that includes a framework for a $3.5 trillion spending package. By following the budget reconciliation process, Democrats have the ability to pass the spending measure without any GOP help, bypassing the filibuster. 

Notably absent from the resolution, though, is a plan to suspend or raise the debt limit, which was already hit at the start of the month and must be raised sometime this fall. In other words, Democrats are not aiming to raise the debt ceiling on their own and instead are planning to count on Republican votes. 

But Republicans are now hoping to force Democratic leadership's hand into raising the debt ceiling through reconciliation because they believe raising the debt limit after such heavy spending is politically unpopular and don't want to be associated with it at all. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has called on the GOP to hold its ground and not raise the ceiling through regular order.