President Joe Biden says he will not negotiate over the US debt ceiling, accusing Republicans of taking the economy ‘hostage’.
Photo: Mandel NGAN / AFP
Source: AFP
President Joe Biden and the new Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, face off Wednesday at the White House to discuss the US debt standoff — but so far apart they can’t even agree on how to describe their get-together.
At stake is the stability of the US economy.
Republicans are threatening to block the usually rubber stamp approval for raising the nation’s credit limit if Democrats don’t first agree to steep future budget cuts. The White House, meanwhile, accuses the Republicans of taking the economy “hostage” in order to exact politically motivated budget concessions.
Fail to raise the debt ceiling by around June, the Treasury says, and the United States will be forced into default on…
