Senate Republicans stood firmly behind the efforts of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to tie a debt ceiling increase to spending cuts on May 10, despite criticism from Democrats and President Joe Biden.
“The adult in the room has been Speaker McCarthy and the House Republicans,” Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) told reporters at the Capitol following the Republican caucus’ weekly luncheon, noting that he was “proud” of the way McCarthy had addressed the looming crisis of default.
Debt limit discussions between the House Speaker and the president resumed on May 9 at the White House after a three-month hiatus, during which Biden repeatedly refused to meet with McCarthy to negotiate.
Biden, for his part, has insisted that Congress approve an unconditional increase to the nation’s borrowing limit, which currently sits at $31.4 trillion.
When the United States approached that limit in January, the Treasury Department was forced to implement “extraordinary measures” to stave off default. However, if the debt ceiling is not raised, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that default could occur as soon as June 1.
United States ‘Will Not Default’
In April, House Republicans passed their own plan that would raise the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion—or through March 2024—but would pair that increase with future spending cuts, which they say are a must if the federal borrowing cap is to be raised.In a show of support for McCarthy, 43 Senate Republicans have pledged not to approve any debt limit increase without concessions from Democrats on spending cuts.
At the May 10 press conference, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) noted that balancing a debt limit increase with budget cuts was not a novel idea.
“I think it’s a good time to remind everyone that seven of the last 10 times we’ve raised the debt ceiling it’s had something attached to it, almost always related to spending, not surprisingly. So, the notion that this is unheard of is nonsense.”
McConnell was also in attendance for the White House summit, as were Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).
Democrats Issue Rebuke
Despite McConnell’s assurances that default will not occur, the Senate’s top Democrat suggested after his caucus’ weekly luncheon that McCarthy appeared to be considering default as a potential path forward.“Speaker McCarthy doubled down on his efforts, and rather than take default off the table, he’s going to take it hostage at the hands of a far-right agenda that the American people would abhor,” Schumer asserted. “Avoiding default should not be contingent on passing the GOP’s hard-right, partisan agenda.”
Echoing that frustration at an earlier press conference, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) said: “America has never defaulted on our obligations. We cannot do that, and I think it’s accurate that three legislative leaders have said that we cannot get there. Unfortunately, there’s one that has not said that, and that’s the troubling part of where we are.”
However, Schumer said the silver lining to the summit was that top staff members for the four congressional leaders and the president would be gathering throughout the week to discuss possible solutions ahead of the leaders’ follow-up meeting on May 12.
Noting that spending cuts could be negotiated later in the year during the budget appropriations process, the senator added: “If Speaker McCarthy would simply commit to taking default off the table, we’re happy to engage in a separate conversation with Republicans on the budget.”
