White House accuses Republican leader McCarthy of ‘economic hostage-taking’

THE White House on Monday accused the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, of taking the US economy hostage by attaching conditions to any extension of the country’s debt ceiling.

“Speaker McCarthy is breaking with the bipartisan norm... by engaging in dangerous economic hostage-taking that threatens hard-working Americans’ jobs and retirement savings,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said.

McCarthy said in a speech at the New York Stock Exchange that the debt ceiling should be raised but only in tandem with spending cuts to address the national debt.

President Joe Biden has said repeatedly that he is ready to discuss spending reductions but that Congress must first pass a “clean” – no-strings-attached – debt ceiling increase before the current budget runs out of money sometime this summer.

Bates said McCarthy had been “vague” in what he proposed needed cutting but that his priorities indicated an “extreme” position that would favour the “super-rich, special interests and profitable companies.”

“Rather than ask the super wealthy to pay their fair share, they propose cutting services for veterans. Rather than cut spending to Big Pharma, they propose sending manufacturing jobs overseas to countries including China,” Bates alleged.

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The back-and-forth is the opening salvo in what is expected to be an intense political battle between Democrat Biden and McCarthy over the coming months.

The US government is expected to run out of money in the summer, defaulting on its debt for the first time in history, if Congress does not authorise additional borrowing – an accounting maneuver that has become standard practice over the years. AFP