Pelosi: No debt increase until spending limits are raised

WASHINGTON — Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the Democratic-controlled House won’t pass must-do legislation to increase the government’s borrowing cap until the Trump administration agrees to boost spending limits on domestic programs.

The California Democrat said she’ll agree to increase the so-called debt ceiling, which is needed to avoid a market-cratering default on U.S. government obligations this fall. But she says she’ll do so only after President Donald Trump agrees to lift tight “caps” that threaten both the Pentagon and domestic agencies with sweeping budget cuts.

Pelosi told reporters Thursday that “when we lift the caps then we can talk about lifting the debt ceiling.”

Her remarks came as bipartisan negotiations to increase the spending limits have sputtered, though Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin met with Senate Republicans Wednesday on strategy.