Elizabeth Warren to Republicans: 'Are you kidding me on the debt ceiling?'

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) did not hold back in her criticism of GOP reticence toward helping Democrats raise the nation's debt limit, arguing, as many have, that the left cooperated with their counterparts when the same issue arose during the Trump administration.

"I do believe it's time to call the Republicans out over this," Warren told MSNBC. "Are you kidding me on the debt ceiling? When Donald Trump was president and needed to raise the debt ceiling over and over, Democrats said 'yep, we get it.'" Warren also emphasized that a debt limit increase is a reflection of past spending — not future.

"The Republicans want to turn around and play political games with that? They want to threaten to blow up our entire economy and actually the world economy over that?" On Tuesday, a Moody's Analytics report predicted a default on the debt ceiling could throw the American economy into an immediate recession comparable to that of 2008, including the loss of 6 million jobs, among other heart-stopping statistics.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"Where I am right now is to call out the Republicans who are saying that they are going to behave so irresponsibly as not to vote to increase the debt limit."

Although both parties agree the debt limit needs raising, Republicans would rather Democrats go it alone, so as to create a spending-sized stain on midterms. The left, however, would prefer the issue remain bipartisan, considering an increase is compensating for the debts of the past, and would be less "politically fraught" than including a provision in their $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill.