Joe Biden opened up on the possibility that America might default on its debt for the first time in its existence under his Presidency. He blamed Republicans and Minority Leader of the Senate, Mitch McConnell, for playing a role in several different factors of the debt ceiling crisis.
While Republicans theoretically could step in and make the process of raising the debt ceiling easier for Biden and his political leaders in congress, it’s easy to imagine why they might not want to considering that Democrats have passed several pieces of legislation without even trying to get a single vote from Republicans. It’s important to remember that Democrats have pushed their agenda with a 50-50 Tiebreaker Majority in the Senate. Democrats also have the thinnest majority in the House of Representatives.
October 18th is the estimated date where trouble could really start for the U.S. economy in relation to the debt ceiling crisis. If a solution is not crafted before that date, it is incredibly likely that the U.S. will default on its debt and the economy will face several harmful side effects, including job losses, higher interest rates, and delays in federal funding for several programs.
It certainly isn’t a good look if the U.S. President has both majorities in congress and is unable to find a solution to a crisis that could be avoided if solved in the next two weeks. There’s still time for Biden and his administration to find a solution through negotiations with the Republicans in congress, but it’s unlikely that they will receive any assistance if they continue down their current trajectory.
His approval ratings across several different categories have plunged in recent weeks. The Afghanistan withdrawal was the first major negative event that Biden had to face and that was followed by a border crisis that has completely spiraled out of control. Law enforcement in Texas was forced to park hundreds of vehicles to create a blockade to stop preventing border crossings in some areas of Texas.
Now Biden is struggling to avoid a debt ceiling crisis that could force the United States to default on its debt and plunge the economy into an uncontrollable dive. Stock markets could plunge rapidly, retirement savings would be lost for millions of people, and imperative federal programs could also be impacted. The Democrats have the ability to solve this problem by working with Republicans or simply using the reconciliation process that they have used in the past.
There’s not much time left and Biden and his political party have to make some important decisions to decide which path they want to take. If they are unable to solve this problem, say goodbye to their chances in the 2022 midterm elections where the odds are already stacked against them.