Biden castigates McConnell and GOP over ‘dangerous’ debt ceiling bet

President BidenJoe Biden, Ambassador of Afghanistan on whether Afghans will trust an American president again on Monday warned that the United States could default on its debt for the first time in history if the Senate Minority Leader Mitch mcconnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnell White House seeks to reverse agenda price debate Biden sees support for independents drop Hill’s morning report – Brought to you by Alibaba – Democrats still at odds on order of the day from Biden PLUS (R-Ky.) Continues to block Democratic attempts to increase the federal borrowing limit.

Speaking to reporters following a speech on Monday on the budget deadlock, Biden said he could not guarantee that the United States would be able to pay its bills after October 18 if GOP senators did not want to fight their way to keep the country solvent.

“I can’t believe this will be the end result because the consequences are so dire,” he said. “But can I guarantee it?” If I could I would. But I can not.

Biden’s warning followed a speech in which he lambasted Republicans for shutting down all avenues Democrats used to suspend the federal borrowing limit and accused the GOP of playing a “reckless and political game. dangerous “with the US economy.

Republicans blocked a House bill that would raise the debt ceiling last week as well as an attempt by the Senate Majority Leader Charles SchumerChuck Schumer Struggling over Biden’s Agenda: A Tale of Two Democratic Parties Arizona Democrats’ frustration with Sinema climaxes Trump teases Schumer about occasional Ocasio-Cortez challenge MORE (DN.Y.) to send to the House a bill on the suspension of the debt ceiling.

“Just get out of the way. You don’t want to help save the country, move away so you don’t destroy it, ”Biden said in his speech.

His remarks come 14 days before the United States is on track to default on the national debt with no clear path to a deal to avert an unprecedented catastrophe.

secretary of the treasury Janet YellenJanet Louise Yellen White House Seeks to Reverse Agenda Price Debate Alabama Authorizes Intent to Use COVID-19 Relief Funds to Build Prisons The Hill’s Morning Report – Brought to you by Alibaba – Democrats still disagree on the Biden PLUS agenda warned lawmakers last week that the department would exhaust the cash flow and accounting measures needed to avert a default by October 18, the most specific date yet.

Raising or suspending the debt ceiling does not affect the amount of national debt or future spending. It simply allows the treasury to issue new bonds generating cash repayment expenditures approved over decades by both parties.

If Congress does not act to raise the debt ceiling after this point, the United States could miss the debt payment for the first time in its history and trigger potential economic and financial catastrophe.

The United States may suddenly be unable to fund basic federal rights and services – including social security checks and salaries for military and federal personnel – as the recovery from the coronavirus recession faces new threats. Interest rates in the United States would likely skyrocket and global financial markets could seize as trillions of dollars in treasury bonds go sunk.

Despite this, GOP senators have pledged to block any Democratic attempt to raise the debt ceiling unless it goes through the budget reconciliation process, Biden’s multibillion-dollar social services vehicle and of the climate bill. Despite raising the debt ceiling three times below the old President TrumpDonald Trump Ambassador to Afghanistan on whether Afghans will trust an American president again, Republicans insist Democrats must do it on their own through the one process the GOP cannot stop.

In a Monday letter to Biden released shortly before the president’s remarks, McConnell reiterated the GOP’s multi-month threat to block an increase in the debt ceiling.

“Your lieutenants in Congress need to understand that you don’t want your Unified Democratic government sleepwalking toward preventable disaster when they’ve been given nearly three months’ notice to do their jobs,” McConnell wrote.

“The Republicans’ position is simple. We do not have a book of demands. For two and a half months, we have simply warned that since your party wishes to govern alone, it must also manage the debt ceiling alone.”

McConnell also cited Biden’s previous vote against raising the debt ceiling as a senator under the administration of George W. Bush. While Senate Democrats actually voted against raising the debt ceiling under a Republican president, they did not obstruct debt ceiling increases the way Republican senators did under Biden.

Schumer and speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiBiden travels to Michigan to promote agenda amid internal Democratic feuds Schumer sets one-month goal to pass two Christie spending bills: 2020 Joe Biden “is now officially dead and buried.” MORE (California) each ruled out using the reconciliation process to raise the debt limit last week. The two leaders insisted that the process is too complicated to deal with such an urgent issue, even though the reconciliation rules specifically allow the debt limit to be raised to a specific level.

Schumer also warned fellow Democrats in a Monday letter that the Senate must send Biden a bill to raise the debt ceiling by the end of the week, saying it was too dangerous to get too close. October 18.

While Biden did not close the door on increasing the debt limit through reconciliation on Monday, he also expressed concerns about opening what could be a procedural Pandora’s box. Raising the debt limit through budget reconciliation could involve dozens of votes on amendments that could create a myriad of new problems, he argued.

“Everything else would stop, but you still end up in a situation where at the end of the day you might have gone through something that actually needs to be defeated again by the Democrats or the Republicans,” said Biden.

“It’s an incredibly complicated and cumbersome process, and there is a very simple process sitting at the desk of the United States Senate,” he continued, referring to a bill passed by the House this week. latest which would suspend the debt ceiling until December 2022.

Updated at 12:43