Debt Ceiling Update: Joe Biden Still Not Negotiating With MAGA Terrorists

Kevin McCarthy can grow a spine and stand up to the extremists.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wrote House Speaker Kevin McCarthy a very polite “Dear Jerkwad” letter Monday reminding him that the US will default on its debt “by early June, and potentially as early as June 1” (a lousy way to celebrate Marilyn Monroe’s birthday).

Yellen made this prediction based on what the government shook down from folks in April and the way it's currently spending money. However, she can't pinpoint the precise moment when the nation's economy goes belly up.

"It is impossible to predict with certainty the exact date when Treasury will be unable to pay the government's bills, and I will continue to update Congress in the coming weeks as more information becomes available," she wrote. "Given the current projections, it is imperative that Congress act as soon as possible to increase or suspend the debt limit in a way that provides longer-term certainty that the government will continue to make its payments."

 McCarthy, of course, insists that “no clean debt ceiling” increase would pass the MAGA-run House. Monday, he whined that President Joe Biden had “refused to do his job” because he wouldn’t give in to his demands. But Biden ain't blinking. He insists on a clean debt ceiling increase that will pay the bills Donald Trump racked up.

PREVIOUSLY:

 House Speaker McCarthy Ready To BURN IT ALL DOWN 

 House Republicans Finally Deliver Debt Ceiling Ransom Note 

The president has invited McCarthy, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, Chuck Schumer, and Mitch McConnell to the White House next Tuesday, which would prove the first substantial talks with Republicans on their manufactured debt ceiling crisis since February. Biden officials confirm the president isn't changing his message, but he might repeat the words a little louder if Republicans' ears are still clogged with stupid.

“If you need to hear again that it’s your responsibility to address the debt ceiling without conditions and a ransom,” said a senior administration official who spoke about internal thinking on condition of anonymity, “then he can say that again.”

Biden is willing to discuss the overall federal budget, but separate from raising the debt ceiling, which he won't negotiate and resents Republicans demanding extreme policy concessions in exchange for not jeopardizing the nation's economic stability. Biden contends that he has the stronger hand in a debt ceiling "stare down," probably because his hand isn't covered in poop. David Frum at the Atlantic noted that "[r]ather than capitalize on existing economic troubles, Republicans have started a debt-ceiling fight that will cast them as the cause of America’s economic troubles."

Republicans have responded so far by lying, often and shamelessly. They insist the debt ceiling bill they just passed won't cut veterans' benefits, which it will. 

   Sen. Ted Cruz said Monday that Biden is the true “terrorist” because he won’t negotiate with Republicans. It’s like an ancient proverb: Who is the terrorist? The terrorist who holds the nation’s economy hostage or the person who won’t pay the ransom?

Congressional Democrats remain united behind Biden. Schumer and Jeffries released a joint response denouncing Republican attempts "to hold our nation hostage." Democrat Jon Tester from Montana, who faces a tough re-election race next year, said that Biden shouldn't cut a deal with Republicans over the debt ceiling. Paying America's debt is non-negotiable.

 Politico reports:  

Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics, said a stock market tumult may be what forces either side of the Biden-McCarthy standoff to give. “It may take a thousand points off the Dow before they actually move,” he said. “There’s going to be a lot of drama, for sure.”

Unfortunately, even if Biden noogied McCarthy into a deal, it would take days to move any legislation through both the House and Senate, and just a few fools in the MAGA caucus could tank the whole thing.

Schumer plans to hold Senate hearings this week that will "expose the true impact" of the bill, but that doesn't get us closer to a deal. It's important that Republicans take the blame for the mess they caused, but we're all better off not living through it.

[ Politico ]

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