Mar 9, 2017

Treasury Dept asks Congress to raise the debt ceiling

Dan Primack

Associated Press

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin today sent a letter to House leaders, asking that they vote to raise the federal debt ceiling:

"Beginning in Thursday, March 16, 2017, the outstanding debt of the United States will be at the statutory limit. At that time, Treasury anticipates that it will need to start taking certain extraordinary measures in order to temporarily prevent the United States from defaulting on its obligations."

This would suggest that President Trump also supports an increase to the debt ceiling, although Sean Spicer punted on the questions when asked during today's White House press briefing.

History: Mick Mulvaney, Trump's director of the Office of Management and Budget, voted against raising the debt ceiling while serving as a U.S. congressman from South Carolina. Trump also has expressed a willingness, in the past, to let the U.S. effectively default on its debt:

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Pelosi warns U.S. allies against working with China's Huawei

Nancy Pelosi on Feb. 16. Photo: Sven Hoppe/picture alliance via Getty Images

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday cautioned U.S. allies against allowing Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei to develop their 5G networks, arguing at the Munich Security Conference that doing so is akin to “choosing autocracy over democracy," CNBC reports.

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Judge sets "scheduling" conference call ahead of Roger Stone sentencing

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Why it matters: Stone's defense team on Friday filed a sealed motion for a new trial — the second time they've done so — amid allegations of juror bias and a growing controversy over Attorney General Bill Barr's intervention in the case.

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Biden says Bloomberg's money can't "erase" his record

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Former Vice President Joe Biden said on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday that Michael Bloomberg's vast fortune cannot "erase" his record, and that scrutiny of Bloomberg's positions on things like race and policing will ramp up now that he's in the national spotlight.

Why it matters: Biden's polling free fall in the wake of poor performances in Iowa and New Hampshire has coincided with a surge for Bloomberg, who appeals to a similar moderate bloc of the Democratic Party. The billionaire's limitless spending capacity poses an especially stark threat to Biden, who has struggled with fundraising.

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