Dem Points Out The 'Farce' Of Republicans' Demands Amid Debt Ceiling Talks

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) went after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and House Republicans on Sunday for saying that they are going to ... blow up our economy if their demands arent met amid debt ceiling talks.

President Joe Biden and McCarthy look to meet again on Monday as GOP lawmakers seek significant spending cuts in exchange for a lift of the debt ceiling. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned the country could default on its obligations as soon as June 1 if action is not taken.

In an interview with ABCs This Week anchor Martha Raddatz, Van Hollen said Republicans wont accept one penny in deficit reduction from closing tax loopholes before pointing to moves under former President Donald Trump s administration.

The farce of this whole thing is that, under Donald Trump, we raised the debt ceiling three times. Forty percent of our national debt actually was accumulated during the four years of the Trump administration, said Van Hollen, who revealed he was extremely worried where negotiations were.

And now theyre not willing to talk about any revenue from very wealthy people as part of this effort, he added.

Sen. Van Hollen: \"The farce of this whole thing is that under Donald Trump, we raised the debt ceiling 3 times, 40% of our national debt was actually accumulated under Trump, and now they're not willing to talk about any revenue from very wealthy people as part of this effort.\" pic.twitter.com/VrkrFwj3Iv

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Sen. Van Hollen: "The farce of this whole thing is that under Donald Trump, we raised the debt ceiling 3 times, 40% of our national debt was actually accumulated under Trump, and now they're not willing to talk about any revenue from very wealthy people as part of this effort." pic.twitter.com/VrkrFwj3Iv
Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 21, 2023

Van Hollen referred to the talks as an insane situation and declared that a default would destroy the American economy.

What we have right now is Speaker McCarthy and MAGA House Republicans saying that they are going to push the default detonator and blow up our economy if they dont get their way on their budget proposals, he said.

He later added: Republicans are saying if they dont get things their way, theyre going to blow up the economy.

Van Hollen emphasized what he called a really important difference between Democrats and Republicans: Democrats, along with Biden, arent threatening to annihilate the economy if they dont get their way.

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Van Hollen: \"I want to emphasize a really important difference. It's not just both sides say this or that ... [here's] the difference. Speaker McCarthy & the MAGA Republicans are threatening to blow up the economy if we don't do things exactly their way\" pic.twitter.com/ciSqAeGNWx

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Speaker McCarthy & the MAGA Republicans are threatening to blow up the economy if we don't do things exactly their way\" pic.twitter.com/ciSqAeGNWx Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 21, 2023\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_hide_thread":{"label":"Hide previous Tweet in conversation thread","value":true},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":720,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/ext_tw_video_thumb/1660295450090520576/pu/img/5HtgCU1G1HiaIdD5.jpg:large","thumbnail_width":1280,"title":"Aaron Rupar on 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Van Hollen: "I want to emphasize a really important difference. It's not just both sides say this or that ... [here's] the difference. Speaker McCarthy & the MAGA Republicans are threatening to blow up the economy if we don't do things exactly their way" pic.twitter.com/ciSqAeGNWx
Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 21, 2023