The Republican-manufactured debt ceiling crisis became more dire this week when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen informed Congress that they have just one month to either suspend or increase the limit, not the more optimistic two or three months some had hoped for. As if that short time frame wasn’t scary enough, there are just a handful of days overlapping the House and Senate’s working schedules. On top of that, President Joe Biden is set to attend overseas meetings with other world leaders later this month.
Scheduling matters aren’t the only challenge. As usual, House Republicans are denying reality, just like they’ve done with climate change and COVID-19. For months, they’ve flirted with the idea that a national default would be just fine. They’ve argued that it’s not a big deal because the Treasury can simply prioritize which debts to pay even after default, something Treasury officials have for more than a decade now explained is not possible, since the last time Republicans decided to play chicken with the full faith and credit of the nation.
Meanwhile, the architect of the debt ceiling hostage situation, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, has decided that he’ll keep Senate Republicans out of the picture. “It should be clear to the administration that the Senate isn’t a relevant player at this time,” McConnell said Tuesday. “The sooner the president and the speaker get about it, the better.” It is ironic seeing McConnell wash his hands of the matter after inventing this tactic, particularly when you look back at what he learned in 2011, when he first weaponized the debt limit.
