Democratic senators are growing impatient with the lack of progress in avoiding a national default. They want House Democrats working on a solution to force Republicans into voting on a bill that would raise the debt ceiling.

The Democratic Senators are trying to avoid a summer-long standoff over extending the country’s borrowing authority. This would shake financial markets and the economy, which could be headed for a mild recession by the second half.

Hakeem Jeffries, House Minority Leader (D-N.Y.), has abandoned the idea of circulating a petition to force a referendum on a debt limit increase. Instead, he is putting pressure on Speaker Kevin McCarthy to schedule a similar vote.

McCarthy shows no sign of letting up on his demand that Biden accept large spending cuts as a condition for raising the debt limit, even though Biden has refused to negotiate and House Republicans are unable to agree on specific demands.

Some Senate Democrats have suggested that their House counterparts start working on an emergency back-up plan known as a discharge request in the event McCarthy persists in refusing to budge.

“I believe that they should absolutely file a petition for discharge in the House. I think that they should submit a few bills which provide a list of options. “They should present a variety of options, and then prepare to move on with a discharge petition,” said Senator Chris Van Hollen (D). Chris Van Hollen (D-Md) was a member of the House Leadership before being elected to the Senate.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said he is “deeply worried” about the risk of a national bankruptcy later this year.

He added, “Every day I am more concerned about the Republicans in Congress because they do not seem to be interested in finding a constructive way forward.”

Blumenthal was pessimistic about the prospects of a deal being reached with McCarthy who has not yet presented a plan to reduce spending. Democrats insist that such a plan must be the basis for any negotiations.

He predicted that House Democrats would have to file a discharge petition at some point. As we get closer to a cataclysmic meltdown in the financial markets, I believe that Republicans will be under more pressure to be realistic.

Blumenthal stated that “it should be considered” to move a petition for discharge soon. He added: “It should be started as soon as possible.”

The House discharge rule allows members of the House minorities to introduce a bill without the support from the majority leadership. They do this by collecting signatures of a majority of chamber members.

Democrats have 213 seats in the House, so they will need to collect at least 5 Republican signatures to reach their 218-signature target.

Democrats in both chambers believe they can get moderate Republicans to sign an online petition to circumvent McCarthy and avoid default, if no other viable option is available. However, none of them have publicly stated that they will do this.

Jeffries brushed aside the idea of filing a petition for discharge when asked at a recent press conference.

He told reporters that the most viable option is for the extreme MAGA Republicans to act now and do what they did consistently when Donald Trump was president of the United States of America. The House had raised the debt limit three times during Trump’s presidency, he said.

It would take several weeks, or even two and a quarter months to finish a discharge petition in order to force a vote.

Before attempting to bring a debt limit measure up for a vote, it must be referred at least 30 working days in advance to a House Committee.

To further complicate the situation, legislators may have to also file a motion for discharge of a rule established by the GOP-controlled Rules Committee that outlines the procedure to be followed on the floor when the debt limit measure is discussed.

The House Rule XV also states that only the second and fourth mondays in a given month are appropriate for motions to discharge a bill or resolution from a committee.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) She said that she supports House Democrats circulating a discharge petition in order to pass a debt limit increase.

She said, “We need to have a debt ceiling that is clean.”

Warren said it would take weeks to gather 218 signatures, and then navigate the complex procedures in the House. “So get started now,” he added.

She said that it is difficult to predict in advance exactly when the Treasury Department will run out of options to pay the nation’s bills.

It can be difficult to accurately set the “x date”. It’s crazy that Republicans want to put us on the same date. She said, “There’s no need for this other political theatre.”

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told McCarthy and other leaders of Congress on Jan. 19, that the Treasury Department was using “extraordinary” measures to prevent the government from going into default.

She wrote that “the period of time during which extraordinary measures could last is subjected to considerable uncertainty,” including the difficulties of forecasting payments and receipts for the U.S. Government months in advance.

Some Democratic Senators are concerned that the date on which the country faces default could arrive without sufficient advance notice to allow House Democrats to bring a clean bill for debt limits to the floor of the House to be voted before disaster strikes.

The Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who is returning to the Capitol on Monday following a five-week concussion absence, hasn’t shown any sign that he would step in and broker a deal, like he did in 2011 during the debt-limit standoff.

Authorities in Alabama ask the community for help following a mass shooting that killed four people

Nashville Airport Part evacuated because of a ‘noxious smell’

Rep. Patrick McHenry, a close ally of McCarthy’s, told Punchbowl News he was “never more pessimistic” about the state of affairs with respect to the debt ceiling.

According to his conversations with House Members, Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon said that he does not see Republicans backing down any time soon.

“I spoke to some House members from Oregon. They described how it felt on the House side …. He said that it sounded like they were trying to push the country off a cliff.