Biden blames McConnell for 'meteor' heading toward U.S. economy
President Biden blamed Senate Republicans and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for the country's precarious financial situation on Monday, warning that a "meteor" is headed toward the U.S. economy if the debt limit is not raised within the next two weeks, Bloomberg reports.
When asked whether he could guarantee the U.S. wouldn't reach the limits on its debt, Biden said he couldn't, and that it's "up to Mitch McConnell."
"I can't believe that that will be the end result because the consequence is so dire," Biden added, referencing a situation in which the country could not pay its debts. "I don't believe that. But can I guarantee it? If I could, I would, but I can't." The debt ceiling sets the maximum limit on U.S. borrowing under federal law.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
McConnell has insisted for months that Republicans will not help the majority party raise the nation's debt ceiling, arguing Democrats have the tools to do so themselves on a partisan basis via the reconciliation process. The minority leader penned Biden a letter on Monday asking him to direct Democrats to do exactly that. The president said he plans "on talking to Mitch about it" and hopes "we can have some intelligent and honest conversation about what he's proposing," per Bloomberg; otherwise, Biden believes using the reconciliation method to be "cumbersome" and "risky."
In any event, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has separately warned her department will run out of cash around Oct. 18 if the debt limit is not raised or suspended, meaning time is, of course, of the essence.
"A meteor is headed to crash into our economy," warned Biden on Monday. "Democrats are willing to do all the work stopping it. Republicans just have to let us do our job."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
The ‘menopause gold rush’Under the Radar Women vulnerable to misinformation and marketing of ‘unregulated’ products
-
Voting Rights Act: SCOTUS’s pivotal decisionFeature A Supreme Court ruling against the Voting Rights Act could allow Republicans to redraw districts and solidify control of the House
-
No Kings rally: What did it achieve?Feature The latest ‘No Kings’ march has become the largest protest in U.S. history
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
-
Trump nominee in limbo after racist texts leakSpeed Read Paul Ingrassia lost Republican support following the exposure of past racist text messages
-
Trump begins East Wing demolition for ballroomspeed read The president’s new construction will cost $250 million
-
Appeals court clears Trump’s Portland troop deploymentSpeed Read A divided federal appeals court ruled that President Trump can send the National Guard to Portland
