Democrats responded to the news that the U.S. could default on its debt as early as June 1 by hardening their public positions.
US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks to the press as US House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries listens, after meeting with US President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington, DC, on January 24, 2023.that the U.S. could default on its debt as early as June 1 by hardening their public positions, accusing Republicans of holding the nation's economic welfare hostage to demands for federal budget cuts.
But the very fact that Biden is meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy at all, however, signals a significant change. It comes after months of Biden and the White House demanding that McCarthy produce a Republican budget and agree to take debt default off the table, neither of which the speaker has done.. The measure would raise the debt ceiling in exchange for massive cuts to discretionary federal spending.
There are two ways for Congress to avoid a looming debt default: The first is by voting to raise the statutory debt limit, currently set at $31.4 trillion. The second is by voting to suspend the limit for a set amount of time, essentially stopping the clock on default. As Democrats explored their options, Republicans were largely muted on Tuesday. When Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell spoke on the Senate floor immediately after Schumer, he did not mention the debt ceiling.
Specifically, Jeffries said in a letter to his Democratic colleagues that Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., "just filed a special rule that would allow for Floor consideration of a bipartisan measure to avoid a dangerous default."