Willie R. Tubbs, FISM News
The debt ceiling impasse between Republicans and the White House is no closer to being broken as neither group appears willing to budge on federal spending cuts.
President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) are scheduled to meet again this week to discuss a way forward, but as of Sunday both sides are firmly entrenched.
Republicans have accused the White House of being unreasonable in negotiations while Biden is accusing Republicans of being anti-American worker. Biden has also continued the strategy of using social media to post frequently about the emergency America faces if it defaults on its debt.
“According to economists, 8 million Americans could lose their jobs if our nation failed to pay its bills,” Biden tweeted Friday. “The consequences would be catastrophic for folks across the country and the globe. Default is not an option.”
According to economists, 8 million Americans could lose their jobs if our nation failed to pay its bills.
The consequences would be catastrophic for folks across the country and the globe.
Default is not an option.
— President Biden (@POTUS) May 19, 2023
Based on reports from within the negotiations, trimming a spending wish list is also not an option for Biden, who has major green energy and social justice projects in mind for his new budget.
“President Biden doesn’t think there is a single dollar of savings to be found in the federal government’s budget,” McCarthy tweeted Saturday. “He’d rather be the first president in history to default on the debt than to risk upsetting the radical socialists who are calling the shots for Democrats right now.”
Republicans have also been critical of Biden for visiting Japan last week as part of a G7 conference and of Senate Democrats for taking a recess rather than continuing to work toward a debt solution.
Republicans have passed a bill in the House that would raise the debt ceiling at the expense of the Inflation Reduction Act, student loan forgiveness, and several other big-ticket Biden spending goals.
“You are the one who keeps talking about default,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) tweeted in response to Biden. “Literally every day. Hint: #HR2811 has been passed. Maybe come back from Japan and get the @SenateDems to open the Senate next week and pass it. Problem solved.”
You are the one who keeps talking about default. Literally every day. Hint: #HR2811 has been passed. Maybe come back from Japan and get the @SenateDems to open the Senate next week and pass it. Problem solved. #ShrinkDCGrowAmerica https://t.co/hlQUWlwPVC
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) May 19, 2023
Barring Congressional action, the federal government is expected to run out of the money necessary to pay its debts in June, Democrats say as early as June 1.
While a negotiated debt solution might be slow in coming, there is the chance that Republicans and Democrats can pass a make-shift, temporary measure to address the problem while negotiations continue.
Such an action has become common and was used on multiple occasions in 2021 to prevent a government shutdown.