America's June 1 debt ceiling deadline is rapidly approaching, with no agreement between the president and Capitol Hill Republicans having been reached.
That fact has one prominent Biden administration figure warning of dire consequences if a deal isn't reached.
According to USA Today, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said during a Sunday interview with NBC's "Meet The Press" that America would be left unable to fund everything from Social Security and Medicare to the military.
"There can be no acceptable outcomes if the debt ceiling isn't raised, regardless of what decisions we make," the Treasury secretary insisted.
"Since 1789, the United States has a history of paying its bills on time. That's what the world wants to see. A continued commitment to do that--it's what underlies U.S. Treasury securities as the safest investment on the planet," Yellen explained.
The U.S. has kept its financial commitments since 1789 by paying its bills on time. Congress has prevented default 78 times. It’s essential they do so again. pic.twitter.com/azPjhFdUry
— Secretary Janet Yellen (@SecYellen) May 22, 2023
Still, the Treasury secretary acknowledged that the government will have enough money to function after June 1, although it is not clear for how long.
"There's always uncertainty about tax receipts and spending," USA Today quoted her as saying. "And so it's hard to be absolutely certain about this, but my assessment is that the odds of reaching June 15, while being able to pay all of our bills, is quite low."
USA Today noted that for his part, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures" that blame for the crisis lies with the White House.
He complained that Joe Biden would "rather be the first president in history to default on the debt than to risk upsetting the radical socialists who are calling the shots for Democrats right now."
McCarthy also accused Biden of wanting to spend "more money than we spent at the height of the pandemic," adding, "We just can't afford to keep borrowing from China and be more dependent and create more inflation."
President Biden wants to spend MORE money than the federal government did at the height of the pandemic.
American taxpayers just cannot afford to keep borrowing money from China. pic.twitter.com/yBNCLaSUmG
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) May 22, 2023
Those words came after a tweet earlier this week in which McCarthy said that "radical socialists" are "calling the shots for Democrats right now."
President Biden doesn’t think there is a single dollar of savings to be found in the federal government’s budget.
He’d rather be the first president in history to default on the debt than to risk upsetting the radical socialists who are calling the shots for Democrats right now.
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) May 21, 2023
