During an interview with CBS News on Thursday, White House National Economic Council Deputy Director Bharat Ramamurti reacted to ratings agency Fitch placing the United States on a watch list for a potential downgrade by stating that it “reflects the costs of the brinksmanship” of Republicans and “it has been highly irresponsible to push it so close to the edge at this point to threaten a global economic collapse unless they get their full, partisan agenda.” And President Joe Biden “has been holding the line” against those threats.
Ramamurti said, “What I can say is that that reflects the costs of the brinksmanship that we’re engaged in right here, that the House Republicans are engaged in. Remember, three times under President Trump, House Republicans raised the debt ceiling without any controversy or fanfare, even as they were adding $8 trillion to the debt over those four years. I think it has been highly irresponsible to push it so close to the edge at this point to threaten a global economic collapse unless they get their full, partisan agenda. The President has been holding the line against those types of threats, and ultimately, we’re going to need bipartisan support in Congress to get this thing done.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett