Biden goes on offensive against 'reckless' Republicans

President Joe Biden went on the offensive Monday with a speech attacking Republicans over an imminent threat of default on America’s debt, while pressuring his Democratic Party to enact his stalled agenda. of multibillion-dollar domestic spending.

Returning from a strange weekend relaxing at home in Delaware, Biden immersed himself in the most important period of his presidency yet.

On the one hand, he faces a Republican determination to stall his momentum and regain control of Congress in next year’s midterm legislative elections. On the other hand, Biden is struggling with infighting among Democrats over his infrastructure and social spending bills.

With the speech calling out Republicans and a trip to Michigan Tuesday to promote his domestic spending plans, the 78-year-old political veteran hopes to regain the initiative.

While Biden’s legacy may ultimately hinge on the $ 1.2 trillion infrastructure package and a potentially $ 2 trillion or more social spending package, all economies in the U.S. and the world face the imminent threat of a possible debt default.

Biden on Monday called Republican opponents “reckless and dangerous” for refusing to join with Democrats in raising the debt limit.

The Republican obstruction could push “our economy over the precipice,” Biden said in a White House speech, warning that he cannot “guarantee” that a resolution will be found in time.

“If I could, I would,” he said.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warns that as of October 18, the United States will not have the funds to meet its obligations to creditors if Congress does not ease the legal debt ceiling.

Congress has done so dozens of times over the decades since it set limits on loans, and the votes are often bipartisan and without drama.

This year, reflecting the extraordinary acrimony, Republicans are refusing to vote to raise the ceiling and indicate that they will even block Democrats from passing a simple vote themselves along party lines.

Instead, Senate Republicans are trying to force Democrats to use a complex maneuver called reconciliation to take sole responsibility for the increased debt. Democrats so far refuse, accusing Republicans of taking the nation’s financial situation hostage.

The showdown means Democrats, who control the Senate with just one vote, are bogged down in trying to manage the debt crisis while simultaneously trying to overcome internal differences over Biden’s spending packages.

On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said an increase in the debt ceiling should be approved “by the end of the week, period.”

“We cannot afford to wait until October 18, as it is our responsibility to assure the world that the United States meets our obligations in a timely manner,” he said.

– How much is enough? Meanwhile, Biden needs all of his experience from nearly four decades in the Senate and eight years as vice president under Barack Obama to try to find a formula that will unite the left and more conservative wings of his party.

His trip Tuesday to a union training center in Howell, Michigan, will seek to highlight the White House’s argument that big spending plans are popular with voters and that Democrats would be committing colossal self-harm if their disputes result in the whole of the legislative agenda. collapse.

The moderates in the House and, more importantly, the ultra-tight Senate refuse to accept the expected price for the progressive wing of $ 3.5 trillion in social spending. Progressives reject a $ 1.5 trillion counter offer.

Biden is now pushing for something in the $ 2 trillion range.

Yet both camps are playing tough, and it progressively refuses to back even the $ 1 trillion infrastructure component unless its larger social spending targets are first secured.

On Sunday, Schumer said the goal was “to finish both bills in the next month,” adding another deadline to a tense fall season for Biden’s team.

Source: AP