Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) indicated Thursday that he does not fear the coming of a financial crisis due to the debt ceiling.
Speaking with reporters in Kentucky, McConnell said he is confident the U.S. will not default on its debt.
“No, I would not be concerned about a financial crisis,” McConnell said after an event at the University of Louisville surrounding disaster relief funding, The Hill reports.
“In the end, I think the important thing to remember is that America must never default on its debt. It never has, and it never will. We’ll end up in some kind of negotiation with the administration over what the circumstances or conditions under which the debt ceiling will be raised.”
McConnell, the longest-serving party leader in the Senate, explained that the process to bring up the debt ceiling is “always a rather contentious effort.” In spite of this, he claims lawmakers will complete the task prior to the Treasury exhausting its “extraordinary measures” in June.
This comes after U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sent a letter to congressional leaders announcing that the department is now undergoing “extraordinary measures” to prevent the U.S. from defaulting on its debt payments.
“The period of time that extraordinary measures may last is subject to considerable uncertainty due to a variety of factors, including the challenges of forecasting the payments and receipts of the U.S. government months into the future,” Yellen wrote in the Thursday letter.
She additionally cautioned that while she cannot predict an exact timeline of events, she imagines the situation could worsen substantially if it is not acted upon soon, writing, “While Treasury is not currently able to provide an estimate of how long extraordinary measures will enable us to continue to pay the government’s obligations, it is unlikely that cash and extraordinary measures will be exhausted before early June. Consistent with past practice, I will, of course, continue to keep Congress informed as we approach the exhaustion of our resources.”
“I respectfully urge Congress to act promptly to protect the full faith and credit of the United States.”
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has sent a letter to members of Congress alerting them that the United States has hit its debt ceiling and will implement “extraordinary measures” to keep paying its bills through June 5. pic.twitter.com/WKff0SmE9S
— The Recount (@therecount) January 19, 2023
The U.S. government reached its borrowing limit of $31.4 trillion on Thursday.
Top Democrats and White House leadership have indicated they will not consider passing a clean debt ceiling bill, according to reports.
