Sen. Chris Van Hollen said Sunday he was "extremely worried" amid ongoing debt and budget negotiations and Democrats should now look to their "Plan B" to try to move their own deal through the House via a discharge petition.
"Republicans, we only need five, [to] work together with all 213 Democrats to put together the kind of proposal that even about 30 Republicans were talking about as recently as May,” Van Hollen, D-Md., told ABC "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz.
With a discharge petition, Democrats could force a vote on the House floor without Speaker Kevin McCarthy's backing. But as Van Hollen noted, they would need some conservatives to join them to pass an alternative plan.
Van Hollen stressed that, for the next two days, “Plan A” should remain the ongoing talks between the White House and McCarthy.
The federal government risks defaulting on its debts unless its borrowing limit, currently $31.4 trillion, is raised by Congress. House Republicans want concessions on spending in order to do so.
In this March 22, 2023, file photo, Sen. Chris Van Hollen speaks during a senate appropriations subcommittee hearing at the Capitol in Washington, D.C.Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/AP, FILE
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
