Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said the nation could default on its debt as early as June 1 if Congress does not vote to raise the debt ceiling, currently $31.4 trillion. With a high-stakes meeting set for Tuesday between congressional leaders and Biden, the two sides remain far apart.
“If you buy a car, you are expected to pay the monthly payment,” she said at a White House press briefing. “If you buy a home, you are expected to pay the mortgage every month. … Let’s look at Congress for a second. This is spending that they’ve already done.” “They got in there. They had tough conversations,” she said. “They said we have to be responsible with taxpayer dollars.”
“He has a Republican House,” she said. “He does not have the 60 votes he needs in the Senate. He has to be a true leader, which means he comes to the table and has a tough conversation to figure out how we move forward.”