Freshman Sen. Lee Vows Filibuster on Debt Limit

The federal government’s debt limit won’t be increased above its current $14.3 trillion level if Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, has anything to do with it. The freshman, a founding member of the Senate's Tea Party Caucus, promises to filibuster legislation to increase the debt ceiling, unless Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell agree to a balanced-budget amendment, The Hill reports.

“I'm against raising the debt ceiling, and so I'm resisting it," Lee said after the first meeting of the Tea Party Caucus Thursday. "The only scenario in which I can imagine not using the filibuster is if the leadership of both parties agrees that as a condition of that they would first pass out a balanced-budget amendment."