House Democrats set the blame on Republicans in case of default
Mabinty Quarshie
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House Democratic leaders sought to blame House Republicans for a potential default on the United States’s $31.4 trillion debt ahead of a high-stakes meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House Tuesday afternoon.
Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, criticized House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) for continuing “to put the demands of the most extreme members of his conference over the needs of everyday Americans” during a news conference on Tuesday.
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“House Republicans can end this at any time they want, but they have to refuse to give up on the ransom demands that they have passed,” Aguilar said. Last month, the House GOP passed the Limit, Save, Grow Act, which raises the debt ceiling over the next year either by $1.5 trillion or until March 31, 2024, whichever comes first.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that the “X date,” by which the U.S. will be unable to pay its bills, could hit as early as June 1, just a little over two weeks from now. McCarthy, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) are set to meet with Biden for a second time over debt ceiling negotiations on Tuesday at 3 p.m.
But they are running out of time to avoid a default. Biden is set to leave for a G-7 meeting in Japan on Wednesday, and the working calendar days for Congress this month is slim. “I’m incredibly scared with where we are,” said Aguilar. “At some point, I think, as I mentioned last week, Leader McConnell is going to have to weigh in as well.” But McConnell has remained consistent and adamant that debt limit negotiations must be led by Biden and McCarthy.
Republicans and Democrats are at odds over passing a “clean” debt ceiling bill that Democrats favor versus enacting spending cuts and work requirements for government entitlement programs, which Republicans are backing. Despite the lack of progress over the negotiations, Biden warned on Tuesday that a “default is not an option.”
Yet, Democrats are already blaming Republicans for a default if an agreement is not reached.
“In the last 24 or 48 hours or so, we’ve heard quite a bit from Speaker McCarthy and some House Republicans as they attempt to lay blame for a Republican default that grows more and more precarious by the day,” said Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO), chairman of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee.
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Biden has not ruled out invoking the 14th Amendment to pay the nation’s debt if the impasse is not broken, which some Democrats have pressed for him to do.
Aguilar, though, is arguing, as are most Democrats, that spending cuts should be considered in annual budget negotiations. “We are happy to engage in negotiations and conversations about debts, deficit spending, revenues. Those should all be part of the discussions. Those are generally held in the Budget Committee, the Appropriations Committee, the Ways and Means Committee,” Aguilar said.