Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) urged everyone to “relax” as the nation could potentially default if the Biden administration refuses to agree with House Republicans on cutting the federal budget.
While House Republicans hold leverage in budget cut talks through debt ceiling negotiations, McConnell told reporters on Tuesday that everyone should “relax,” noting the Biden administration is finally speaking with House Republicans to find a solution.
“Look, I think everybody needs to relax. The last ten times there were things attached to it. This is not that unusual. And is almost entirely required when you have divided government,” he said.
Republicans hold leverage over the Biden administration due to taking back the House in November from Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) with a slim majority, forcing the Biden administration to negotiate spending cuts in debt ceiling negotiations.
“The President and the speaker will reach an agreement. It will ultimately be passed on a bipartisan vote in both the House and the Senate,” McConnell predicted. “The country will not default.”
“Ultimately, there needed to be an agreement between the Speaker of the House, the majority of the House, and the president,” McConnell added. “And the sooner they got about it, the better.”
The Senate minority leader added the Biden administration wasted weeks and months refusing to enter talks with House Republicans.
“Unfortunately, the administration said for months a clean debt ceiling is all we will take,” he said. “That was never possible. I pointed out, we had divided government. There had to be an agreement.”
“Fortunately, for the last ten days they were finally talking,” he continued. “I’m optimistic we’ll get an outcome.”
The big question is Washington is: will the country default on its debt?
During a stop in KY today, @LEX18News asked Sen. Mitch McConnell if he’s concerned about timing at this point.
“Look, I think everybody needs to relax…this is not that unusual…” pic.twitter.com/2IpP1J65g4
— Karolina Buczek (@Karolina_Buczek) May 23, 2023
Meanwhile, the extreme left raised alarm over President Joe Biden negotiating spending cuts to the federal budget with House Republicans.
“I think there would be a huge backlash from our entire House Democratic caucus, certainly the progressives — but also in the streets,” radical Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) told CNN.
“It’s going to be a problem,” socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) told CNN when questioned about the possibility of Biden agreeing to spending cuts or caps.
On Monday, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Biden administration officials met to discuss the budget.
“I felt we had a productive discussion. We don’t have an agreement yet,” he said.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.
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