No more excuses — Democrats can’t risk another crisis

The end of the eviction moratorium wasn’t the only depressing deadline that passed this weekend. Two years ago, in a bipartisan vote, Congress suspended the debt ceiling until this July 31. But as my colleague Catherine Rampell wrote, “A Democrat is back in the White House. Which means, right on schedule, Republicans are again trying to take the economy hostage.” The Treasury Department can deploy some accounting tricks to push back the debt limit, but sooner rather than later, Congress has to raise it, or risk Social Security payments, military salaries or even a worldwide financial crisis. The faster the twin infrastructure bills pass, the more room Democrats have to deal with Republicans’ shenanigans around the debt.