McConnell: Democrats 'won't get our help' to lift debt limit
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans will oppose raising the federal debt limit if Democrats pursue their $3.5 trillion, 10-year plan to strengthen social and environment programs, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday.
The Kentucky Republican's threat was the most explicit he has been about his desire to force Democrats to either take the politically unpopular step of unilaterally renewing the government's ability borrowing authority or to pare back President Joe Biden's domestic policy agenda.
His remarks suggest that another high-stakes budget showdown between the two parties, with the government's financial soundness in the balance, may be on tap. The party not controlling the White House often uses such moments to seek leverage, such as when Republicans pressured President Barack Obama into a 2011 deal that cut spending.
The government's ability to borrow cash to finance its operations expired Aug. 1, when a two-year-old temporary suspension of borrowing limits lapsed. The Treasury Department has used accounting moves ever since to keep the government afloat, but the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has projected that such actions will suffice only until October or November.
If the government loses access to fresh money, it could prompt a federal default, which has never occurred. Analysts have said that could badly wound the economy, perhaps over the long term, forcing up interest rates and federal borrowing costs.
Last month, McConnell said he couldn't “imagine a single Republican" voting to raise the spending ceiling in an environment of “free-for-all for taxes and spending."
On Thursday he was more explicit. His remarks came just days before Democrats plan to begin pushing a budget resolution outlining their $3.5 trillion domestic programs...
