Tbs News, Patrick Mchenry, Pat Patrick Mchenry discussed on WTOP 24 Hour News
Automatic TRANSCRIPT
Debt ceiling and prevent what could be a global economic meltdown. This morning TBS news chief Washington correspondent major Garrett who also hosts the takeout podcast with his analysis of this situation. You always are kind enough to mention the takeout podcast for that. I sat down this morning with pat Patrick mchenry, who is the chairman of the House financial services committee. A key player in all of the conversations in the House Republican conference on this very topic. I said, will the country default? He said, unequivocally know it will not. I said, how can you be so sure? He said, we will find a way to avert a default scenario. I said, do you know what that way is? He said, I don't. I said, well, how can you be so sure? He said, it just can't happen. That's his perspective. He said, if it were me, Patrick mchenry, I would separate this conversation between spending cuts and raising the debt ceiling. He said, but I'm not the majority in my conference. Plenty of my Republican colleagues want to use this as a point of leverage. The question is, how strong a point of leverage is it? The White House is in a position. We're not negotiating over this. And Mitch McConnell will send a Republican leader not incidental to this conversation is not really warm to the idea of using the debt ceiling and the threat of default to negotiate. So House Republicans who want to do this are going to have to pursue this for quite a number of weeks to prove their point. Each and every week we get closer to that June deadline where default looms as a real possibility increases not only the political pressure on them, but the risk to the underlying U.S. economy. So we're in for a pretty unsettling set of weeks, if not months. And at what point does the rest of the world look at the United States and say, what the heck is going on and can we trust you anymore with being essentially the keeper of the world's economy? Right, the default currency, the reserve currency for the global economy. That is what the United States has and prides itself on that. Part of our economic clout in the world depends upon that. And it's a great question. It's the question that lies at the heart of this entire standoff. If you threaten the good faith and credit of the United States, you create systematic risk for everyone who is an investor in the United States who buys treasuries. That's what Patrick mchenry was telling me the risks are so great. I will tell my colleagues on the Republican side. This is simply not something that you can toy with. There can be other ways. I said, what other ways could this be resolved with? You said, how about we set up a commission? I said, pat mchenry, we had a commission before. And I know your hard line Republicans won't go for that. He said, you're probably right about that. So he's hopeful. He's optimistic. He's not alone in that sense, but he doesn't know the way. And what has to happen in Washington is