By Victoria Cavaliere and Christopher Condon | Bloomberg
Republicans who gained control of the House in the U.S. midterm election “campaigned on the fact that we were going to be serious about spending cuts,” Comer said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “If you want a debate about future spending — do we want to have defense cuts, do we want to have spending cuts? — that’s a legitimate debate,” said Khanna, who also appeared on CNN. “But you don’t debate whether you pay your debts. You don’t debate the prestige of the United States.”
She said those steps will allow the government to meet its obligations at least through early June. Economists have estimated an actual default would be likely early in the third quarter. Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican who was forced to negotiate with ultraconservatives in his own party before being elected House speaker this month, said Democrats were being “arrogant” by declaring they would not accept any cuts but expressed optimism he could negotiate with Biden.
Rep. John Garamendi, a California Democrat, said using the debt ceiling as leverage could backfire on Republicans.