Alvin Tillery, Jr., associate professor of political science, specializes in American politics, political communication, political participation and race, ethnicity and politics. He can be reached at [email protected] or cell 574-514-5758.  

Quote from Professor Tillery
“President Trump deciding to accept the Democratic leadership’s proposal for a 3-month debt limit increase is a function of two very important dynamics. First, it shows that there is great distance between President Trump and the Republican leaders in Congress. We have known this for quite sometime, but for President Trump to side with the Democrats in the debt limit negotiation -- without getting anything in return -- shows that the chasm is incredibly wide. Indeed, given this maneuver and his decision to pressure Congress to pass immigration reform for the Dreamers within a 6-month time frame, I would not be surprised to see President Trump become the first sitting president to run against a “do nothing” Congress controlled by his own party.

“I also think that Trump accepted this deal because he is beginning to see that it is going to take some real negotiations with both parties if he is going to get anything passed this year. By triangulating in this way, he gives himself an opportunity to play the hero if the Congress can actually fix the Dreamer legislation or pass something with broad bi-partisan appeal like infrastructure,” Tillery said.

Scott Baker is an assistant professor of finance at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. A macroeconomics and empirical finance expert, his research focuses on the impact of policy uncertainty on financial markets and growth. He is a co-developer of the Economic Policy Uncertainty Index, which provides insight about how politics shapes various parts of the economy. 

He can be reached at 847-467-5249 and [email protected].