Washington

United States (US) President-elect Donald Trump said on Thursday (Dec 19) that Congress should get rid of the debt ceiling. Speaking to NBC News, Trump said that getting rid of the debt ceiling would be the smartest thing that Congress would do.

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“The Democrats have said they want to get rid of it. If they want to get rid of it, I would lead the charge,” Trump added. 

In the US, the debt ceiling is the legislative limit on the amount of national debt that can be incurred by the Treasury, thus limiting how much money the government may pay by borrowing more money, on the debt it already borrowed.

'Debt ceiling is a meaningless concept'

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Trump told NBC that the debt ceiling was a meaningless concept and that no one would know for sure what would happen if it were to someday be breached. 

“It doesn’t mean anything, except psychologically,” the president-elect added.

What did Trump say about the possibility of a shutdown?

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Amid the possibility of a shutdown, which would occur at 12.01 am on Saturday if a funding deal wasn't reached, Trump told NBC, "If there’s going to be a shutdown, we’re going to start it with a Democratic president."

Congress had last raised the debt ceiling in June 2023, suspending it through January 1, 2025. Trump also said that he discussed his views on the short-term funding deal with Elon Musk.

“I told him (Musk) that if he agrees with me, that he could put out a statement,” he added. 

During his first term as president, Trump signed legislation three times to lift the ceilings. He had also floated the idea of eliminating the debt ceiling when he was in the White House.

(With inputs from agencies)