House Speaker Kevin McCarthy‘s (R-CA) debt limit speech at the New York Stock Exchange on Monday may have been exactly what Republicans wanted to hear: He declared the House GOP would pass its own debt limit plan and cut government spending without touching Social Security and Medicare.
Democrats, on the other hand, were not convinced by McCarthy’s threat that the Biden administration “will bumble into the first default in our nation’s history.” Nor were they impressed with the logistics of McCarthy’s forthcoming plan.
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“Let me be clear: A no-strings-attached debt limit increase will not pass,” McCarthy said during his speech. “But since the president continues to hide, House Republicans will take action.”
Christie Stephenson, spokeswoman for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), pushed back against McCarthy’s speech soon after he wrapped up.
“Extreme MAGA Republicans continue to treat the full faith and credit of the United States as a hostage situation while their so-called budget proposal remains in the witness protection program,” Stephenson said in a statement. “As always, we will evaluate any legislative text when and if House Republicans can ever agree with themselves about how much they want to devastate American families in order to finance tax cuts for the wealthy, well-off and well-connected.”
“One thing is clear from this morning’s theater at the New York Stock Exchange: Democrats want to avoid defaulting on our country’s debts,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said. “Meanwhile, Speaker McCarthy continues to bumble our country towards a catastrophic default, which would cause the economy to crash, cause monumental job loss, and drastically raise costs for the American people.”
Schumer also criticized Republican insistence on cutting government spending. “Speaker McCarthy insists on cuts. Well, there’s a time to discuss what kind of cuts folks are looking for or taxes they want to raise. It’s called the budget,” he said. “It shouldn’t be part of this conversation.”
McCarthy’s plan would increase the debt limit for one year, kicking the fight down the road until the 2024 presidential election — not an ideal time for Democrats who hope to retain control of the White House.
But it’s not clear if the House speaker has the full backing of the GOP conference.
Democrats, meanwhile, are united behind President Joe Biden’s stance that Congress should pass a clean debt limit extension and that any government spending negotiations should be settled in separate discussions.
The Treasury Department warned on Jan. 19 it was using extraordinary measures to prevent a government default. It’s unclear on what date the U.S. will default, but it will likely happen in the summer if lawmakers don’t come to an agreement.
Jeffries and Schumer weren’t the only Democrats to slam McCarthy.
“Speaker McCarthy is breaking with the bipartisan norm he followed under Trump by engaging in dangerous economic hostage taking that threatens hard-working Americans’ jobs and retirement savings,” White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement.
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Bates also hit McCarthy for a lack of specifics on his debt limit plan.
“Meanwhile, he again failed to clearly outline what House Republicans are proposing and will vote on, even as he referenced a vague, extreme MAGA wish list that will increase costs for hard-working families, take food assistance and health care away from millions of Americans, and yet would enlarge the deficit when combined with House Republican proposals for tax giveaways skewed to the super-rich, special interests, and profitable companies,” Bates said.
