Joe Biden furthers pressure on GOP over debt ceiling

It is becoming apparent that US President Joe Biden’s patience with the Republicans in Congress is wearing thin as of late. During a meeting this week with CEOs at the White House, Biden blasted the GOP for planning to block voting for the debt ceiling increase.

Biden met with the CEOs of JP Morgan Chase & Co, Intel Corp, Citigroup, Bank of America, Raytheon Technologies Corp, Nasdaq Inc, and Deloitte Wednesday, where he blasted the GOP for planning to block the legislation to increase the debt ceiling. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had previously said that the Democratic Party should do so on their own through reconciliation as they control the majority. However, the Senate GOP blocked the Democrats from passing the legislation through filibuster rules at the same time.

During the meeting, Biden said that raising the debt ceiling is about the country paying what it owes. The US leader said that the GOP was planning to block the vote Wednesday.

“Our markets are rattled, Americans’ savings are on the line… our Republican friends need to stop playing Russian roulette with the US economy. If they don’t want to do the job, just get out of the way. We’ll take the heat. We’ll do it. Let us do it. Let the Democrats vote to raise the limit without any obstruction or without any further delays,” said Biden during the meeting.

“It’s not right and it’s dangerous,” Biden added, regarding the plan to block the vote.

Democrats have refused the argument by the GOP that the party should raise the debt ceiling on their own, citing that the debt included the $8 trillion added by Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump. The GOP also controlled the Senate at the time, where the debt ceiling was raised three times.

Biden’s comments during the meeting echoed that of his previous remarks towards the GOP Monday, calling their stance “hypocritical,” “dangerous, and a bit disgraceful.” This also comes as the White House has been warning of the dangers of the US going into default, along with previous warnings made by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that the government may shut down as the agency may have exhausted its funds by mid-October.