President Joe Biden used the strong April jobs report to warn that a failure to raise the debt ceiling would result in sweeping job losses.Lifting the debt ceiling is necessary for the government to cover existing spending commitments already approved by Congress and the president.
"Just today they're reporting 250,000 new jobs," Biden said at the White House. "The last thing this country needs after all we've been through is a manufactured crisis and that's what this is: A manufactured crisis. That's what it is from beginning to end, it's a manufactured crisis driven by MAGA Republicans in the Congress."for the month, far beating Wall Street estimates of 180,000. The growth puts the unemployment rate at 3.
Lifting the debt ceiling is necessary for the government to cover existing spending commitments already approved by Congress and the president. Doing so does not authorize new spending, but House Republicans have said they will not authorize a lift if future spending cuts are not agreed to. The White House has said it is open to discuss spending cuts but will not negotiate with Republicans on the debt ceiling, and lifting it is their constitutional responsibility.
Congress lifted the debt ceiling three times under the Trump administration without conditions. Biden warned of the impact it could have on the country's standing in the world, saying America is "not a deadbeat nation" and that the standoff "is becoming an issue in other countries" who worry the U.S. will default.