House Democrats on Wednesday formally introduced a procedural resolution referred to as a “discharge petition” in an effort to try and force a floor vote on a U.S. debt limit increase without needing the approval of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
The discharge petition was introduced at 10 a.m. as part of a clandestine scheme that had been quietly set in motion since the start of January. The top House Democrat, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), first alerted fellow Democrat colleagues to the plan on May 2.
At the time, he told colleagues that a bill titled “Breaking the Gridlock Act” was introduced at the start of the 118th Congress that had multiple items on it, but also later had a clean debt ceiling increase attached to it. The bill, brought by Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.) has remained untouched since March 7, when it was referred to 20 different House committees….