Here’s a periodic reminder: There is, as of now, still no plan to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, leaving open the chance of a potentially catastrophic blow to the global economy as soon as June.
In a letter to the White House on Tuesday, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., tried to pin the lack of progress on President Joe Biden. From McCarthy’s point of view, Biden is “putting an already fragile economy in jeopardy” by refusing to link raising the debt ceiling to negotiations over federal spending. He claimed that “House Republicans are united” in their view that the only way to stave off disaster is through a deal that would “Limit Spending, Save Taxpayer Money, and Grow the Economy.”
Whether McCarthy realizes it or not, he will have to make a choice that will end either with his losing his speakership or with tanking the U.S. economy.
It’s a nice slogan and the closest McCarthy has come to laying out terms for a potential deal. But in reality, the House Republicans are very much not united on what they would support in a deal to raise the debt ceiling. And whether McCarthy realizes it or not, he will have to make a choice that will end either with his losing his speakership or with tanking the U.S. economy.
Among the provisions McCarthy tossed out as potential starting points for talks were rolling back nondefense spending to “pre-inflationary levels,” which I can only assume means around 2019, and “strengthening work requirements for those without dependents who can work,” a nod to a proposal that Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., has been shopping around. Translation: People without jobs would see cuts in government services like Medicaid and food stamps, which has been shown to reduce people’s health care but not actually boost employment.
Biden shot back with a letter of his own Wednesday, all but telling McCarthy to get his own ducks in a row before he comes back to the table. While the president dropped his budget plan this month,…
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