Democrats are split over whether to back President Joe Biden negotiating with Republicans over the debt limit, which the United States hit last week.
The debt limit, or debt ceiling, will require the Treasury Department to shift money around government accounts to pay incoming bills without accumulating new debt. Congress will have to raise the debt ceiling or default on the country’s debt, something the U.S. has never done.
FEDERAL DEBT LIMIT: WHAT TO KNOW AS REPUBLICANS AND BIDEN PREPARE FOR BATTLE
Most Democrats are firmly set against negotiating with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on the debt ceiling, as they believe it will be an opportunity for Republicans to ask and receive more from Biden and the Democrats, such as spending cuts.
Some, such as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), would be open to the idea of negotiation if the House GOP can prove it will actually pass the legislation to raise the debt ceiling, given the Republicans’ narrow House majority.
“House Republicans, you voted for rules that require regular order for bringing bills to the floor. So, put your proposals for the debt ceiling on the floor, let the entirety of the House debate it and vote on it, and let the American people see and assess these cuts for themselves,” Schumer said. “Otherwise, Americans are going to be left with some pretty big questions.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has gone further, saying he believes negotiations with the House GOP would be politically influenced and are likely to backfire.
Jeffries said it would be a “waste of time” and warned Republicans that using the debt ceiling as a bargaining chip could cause a global economic fallout.
Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) echoed Jeffries’s comments, saying any negotiations could last for weeks, severely affecting the economy and financial markets.
“You know what’s going to happen, we will be lurching from one deadline to the next. It will devastate the credibility of our economy, and that’s something that’s unacceptable,” Durbin said. “We gave them Democratic votes for the debt ceiling under Trump, this should be a bipartisan measure under President Biden.”
However, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) is taking the stance that it is a “mistake” not to negotiate with Republicans. Manchin met with McCarthy on Wednesday, and Manchin told reporters the speaker privately agreed that spending cuts to Medicare and Social Security are off the table.
Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) said that Schumer told Democrats to stay unified against negotiations and not follow Manchin’s calls for bipartisan support, per the Hill.
“I thought what Sen. Schumer said was that no one is supposed to be out negotiating on this point,” Hickenlooper said.
Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA), who also is taking a no-negotiations stance, thinks McCarthy will have a difficult time rallying his party to raise the debt ceiling.
“I doubt he could get 218 votes for that on his own side,” Boyle said of cutting discretionary spending, via the Hill.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said failing to raise the debt ceiling would affect the “livelihoods of all Americans.”
“I respectfully urge Congress to act promptly to protect the full faith and credit of the United States,” Yellen said in her letter to Congress.
