White House press secretary Jen Psaki suggested that President Joe Biden might back Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s endorsement of eliminating the debt ceiling entirely to avoid future credit crises.
When asked at her Friday briefing if Biden agreed with Yellen’s comments, Psaki said the administration’s current focus “for the next 17 days” is “getting the debt limit raised in the Senate.”
“That’s what we’re working toward,” she continued. “There’s plenty of time after that to discuss what the path forward looks like.”
DEMOCRATS: DON’T CALL IT ‘DISARRAY’
Congress introduced a bill in May that would eliminate the debt ceiling, but the White House has not issued a Statement of Administration Policy endorsing it.
Yellen, testifying on the Hill on Thursday, supported that action.
“Yes, I would,” she said in response to a question from Rep. Sean Casten, an Illinois Democrat, on the subject. “If, to finance those spending and tax decisions it’s necessary to issue additional debt, I believe it’s very disruptive to put the president and myself, the treasury secretary, in a situation where we might be unable to pay the bills that result from those past decisions.”
Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett also endorsed eliminating the debt ceiling during negotiations on the topic in 2011. He stated on an investor call that allowing a U.S. credit default “would probably be the most asinine act that Congress has ever performed” and added that “having a debt ceiling to start with is a mistake.”
“It just seems such a waste of time for a country that’s got a lot of things to do,” he added. “I’d love to see them eliminate the idea because it results in these periodic stalemate operations where everybody uses it for posturing purposes.”
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You can watch Psaki’s briefing below.
