House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., warned Wall Street investors that the debt limit standoff between Republicans and the White House is something that should worry them.
When asked by Bloomberg TV about growing unease among Wall Street traders, McCarthy did not say how the stalemate might be solved but said, “They should be concerned.”
“Because I sat down with the president on February 1, and the president never wants to meet,” the Republican leader fumed. “That’s interesting… I’m very concerned about the debt ceiling. I want to make sure we don’t have conflict.”
FLASHBACK: TREASURY SEC. YELLEN DIDN’T ‘BELIEVE’ SHE’D SEE ANOTHER FINANCIAL CRISIS IN HER LIFETIME
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., right, said Wall Street should be “concerned” that there is no political way forward yet on a debt ceiling deal. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
President Biden and Senate Democrats are so far refusing to enter into negotiations under which Republicans would agree to an increase in the debt ceiling in return for an agreement from Democrats to support cuts in federal spending. Instead, Democrats have said Congress should raise the debt ceiling without any pre-conditions, and say they are willing to talk about possible spending cuts only in separate discussions.
If no action is taken by the summer, the government would not have access to the money it needs to fund current obligations, and default on its debt for the first time in history.
A recent report by Goldman Sachs projects that while a deal on the debt limit will eventually be found, the uncertainty will have a negative impact on financial markets in the coming months.
“The political standoff over raising the U.S. federal debt limit will likely be resolved before the government is forced to delay scheduled payments — but is still likely to create uncertainty for financial markets if history is repeated,” that report said.
MCCARTHY SAYS BIDEN ‘COMPLETELY MISSING IN ACTION’ ON DEBT LIMIT NEGOTIATIONS
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned Congress multiple times that the debt ceiling must be raised to avoid a potentially catastrophic default. (Tom Williams)
To date, McCarthy and Biden have only had one in-person meeting at the White House to discuss the debt limit and federal spending. Since then, the White House has said it opposes linking the two issues.
Fox News Digital reported this week that Republicans plan to keep working on spending bills that make cuts to the government that can be supported by the House, and they are hoping that work puts pressure on the White House to agree to a broader deal that includes cuts and the debt ceiling.
TREASURY SAYS IT MAY NOT KNOW DEBT CEILING DEADLINE UNTIL AFTER TAX FILING SEASON
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, left, and President Biden remain at odds over how to reach a deal on the debt ceiling. (ANDREW CABALLERO/AFP via Getty)
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Republicans think the blame will increasingly fall on Biden if the House is passing spending bills through the normal process of committee work, while Biden and Senate Democrats stand on the sidelines, a GOP aide explained.
“We’re never going to move a bill that just raises the debt ceiling,” McCarthy said during his on-camera interview on the sidelines of his meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen. “I’ve been very clear with the [U.S.] president.”
