WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden touted Friday’s jobs report to show that the onus for raising the debt ceiling rests with Congress, using the presidential bully pulpit to insist that he will only accept a bill without conditions and dismissing the demands for concessions from Republicans.
“Next week I am going to reiterate to the leaders of Congress that they must do what every other Congress has done, which is, pass the debt limit, avoid default,” Biden said before meeting with members of his cabinet and other advisors to discuss your economic policy. agenda «We are going to have the normal arguments, that’s why we have a budgetary process, to debate in the open air and for everyone to see it.»
Biden also touted other positive economic indicators, but warned that congressional Republicans were «threatening to undo all this progress by letting us default.»
“We have a lot more work to do, but we are making real progress,” he said.
The White House has argued that the blame for the government defaulting on the nation’s $31.4 trillion debt will fall on Republicans and that the push to trade on the ceiling in exchange for spending cuts amounts to a «take of hostages».
A default would raise costs for businesses and families and increase the risk of a recession, White House spokesman Michael Kikukawa told NBC News this week.
But there is growing concern that Biden will be left defending a shaky economy if no deal is reached. Failing to raise the government’s borrowing limit could send a panic on Wall Street and undermine public confidence in the economy, an outcome Democrats fear could prove politically disastrous for Biden as he heads into his re-election campaign.
The standoff with House Republicans was rocked when Biden invited House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to the White House next Thursday to discuss the country’s tax policy along with other Republican leaders. and Congressional Democrats.