Trump Chides McConnell, Accuses GOP Leader of 'Folding' to Democrats in Debt Ceiling Debacle
01:57 GMT 07.10.2021 (Updated: 13:59 GMT 19.12.2022)
© REUTERS / Dustin Chambers
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As US default fears become more realistic, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has presented Democrats with an offer that would offset debt ceiling concerns until the end of the year. Despite the offer, McConnell has maintained that Democrats will have to unilaterally pass the measure via reconciliation.
Former US President Donald Trump publicly chided the Senate minority leader after catching wind of the GOP politician's proposed compromise with Senate Democrats to avoid a default.
"Looks like Mitch McConnell is folding to the Democrats, again," Trump remarked in a brief statement on his website. "He’s got all of the cards with the debt ceiling, it’s time to play the hand. Don’t let them destroy our Country!”
Trump, who repeatedly critiques McConnell's fitness as the current GOP leader, asserted last month that the debt ceiling is "the only powerful tool that Republicans have to negotiate with" in the US Senate, which is made up of 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans.
The 45th US president added that GOP lawmakers who did not weaponize the issue of the debt ceiling "would be both foolish and unpatriotic."
Though McConnell appeared to diverge from his initial stonewalling, the GOP leader's rhetoric appeared unchanged from his Monday issuance, in which he suggested US President Joe Biden and other Democrats had been "sleepwalking toward significant and avoidable danger."
"This will moot Democrats’ excuses about the time crunch they created and give the unified Democratic government more than enough time to pass standalone debt limit legislation through reconciliation," the GOP leader said on Wednesday.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that unless Congress acts to raise or suspend the debt limit, the US Treasury will likely exhaust its "extraordinary measures" by October 18. Officials fear that a US default on its loans would trigger a wave of economic horrors, including adjusted or delayed Medicare and Social Security payments, and higher interest rates on auto and home loans, as well as on credit cards.
As of this article's publication, Senate Democrats have signaled that they intend to accept McConnell's offer to delay.
At the same time, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki informed reporters that Biden would rather continue to push for raising the debt ceiling, rather than relying on "uncertainty."
.@PressSec on debt limit: "There's been no formal offer made. A press release is not a formal offer...We could get this done today. We don't need to kick the can."
— CSPAN (@cspan) October 6, 2021
Full video here: https://t.co/GZMatjTljK pic.twitter.com/3lBuafyV0g
"If we're looking at the best options, why kick the can down the road a couple more weeks?" Psaki remarked, emphasizing that "no formal offer has been made" in the legislative chamber.
"A press release is not a formal offer," she stated.
