Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) said on Breitbart News Saturday that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has “harmed” the debt ceiling negotiations and should be sidelined by the Biden administration.
“I think Chuck Schumer needs to stick his nose out of this process. I actually think that he has harmed negotiations because the Democrats don’t have the power here,” Vance told host Matthew Boyle, Breitbart News Washington Bureau Chief.
The Buckeye State senator argued that the debt ceiling negotiations are “fundamentally” between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and President Joe Biden, since they are the highest-ranking members of their party, in power in the separate branches of government.
“Mitch McConnell, to his credit, has said from the very beginning, the deal that Kevin McCarthy pushes is the Republican deal because those are the guys who actually control one of the arms of government. Republicans, unfortunately, don’t control the Senate,” Vance added.
He also noted that Biden is trying to create “artificial deadlines” by claiming there has to be a solution, or the country’s finances will be destroyed.
“He is playing a game of chicken,” Vance added. “It’s important for Republicans to show some spine here and not blink. We can pay the country’s debts, we can with the tax revenue that’s coming in. So this is an artificial crisis. And Kevin McCarthy has advanced a good solution to the problem. We need to follow that leadership and actually get something done.”
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Earlier this month, in a letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen projected that the U.S. could run out of cash to pay its bills as early as June 1, based on the data at the time.
However, Biden only started negotiating with McCarthy on the debt ceiling in the last week, after the House Republicans passed legislation last month — the Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023 — to raise the debt ceiling. The legislation would raise the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion while tackling America’s national deficit by saving the government an estimated $4.8 trillion over the next ten years.
“Look, if Biden wants to come out and say, I don’t like this or that part of the Republicans debt ceiling deal, whatever, he’s Democrat, I’m a Republican. We’re going to disagree on some of the details,” he said about Biden’s lack of negotiating skills.
“But [Biden] cannot tell the American people he’s going to drive the economy off the cliff when Republicans have already offered a solution. That’s the craziest thing,” Vance added. “McCarthy has advanced the solution. If the president doesn’t like it, it’s time for him to come to the negotiating table, not threaten the American economy.”
WATCH — GOP Rep. Roy: Biden Refused to Lift Debt Limit Without Spending Freeze in ’84
Breitbart News Saturday airs on SiriusXM Patriot 125 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.
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