Biden apparently called disregarding the debt ceiling “irresponsible” and said he wouldn’t cut entitlements as part of a quid pro quo, which of course suggests that other kinds of cuts could be on the table. Was this wise?
You can take it for granted that a GOP-controlled House, effectively run by the “burn it down” caucus, is going to make extreme demands and won’t back down. That will give Biden the following choices:
- Give in to the blackmail, thus repudiating his presidency, demoralizing his supporters, and encouraging more ransom demands in the future;
- Refuse to give in, but accept the validity of the debt ceiling, thereby causing chaos and widespread misery; or
- Use the Fourteenth Amendment or the platinum coin gambit to continue to pay the bills, and dare the GOP to sue him.
One can hope that Biden is simply posturing for electoral purposes at this point, but this comment is going to come back and haunt him if he chooses #3 at crunch time. The other two alternatives are too awful to contemplate.