House Republicans aren’t very good at this. Instead of being subtle, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) referred to the US economy as ‘our hostage’ while discussing the debt limit.
Here’s Gaetz:
There’s a lot of interest in the Gaetz audio, so here it is. I conducted a brief interview with him before a House vote earlier today to get his views on debt limit talks. @semafor
H/t @joeposner @thejulianlim pic.twitter.com/Ei7R0efUd6
— Joseph Zeballos-Roig (@josephzeballos) May 23, 2023
House Republicans, like Gaetz, are oblivious to how quickly this manufactured crisis is about to turn on them. Do Republicans think that President Biden is holding negotiations to hear himself talk? Biden is proposing various ways to cut spending, including a hiring freeze and making it cheaper for the government to buy Medicare prescription drugs.
President Biden is making a sincere effort to reach a deal because he wants to avoid a default, but also because if the nation does default, the blame will come down on House Republicans like a ton of bricks.
The inexperienced Republican House caucus has no experience with what happened to Republicans when they tried to play debt limit games with Obama. The public backlash to Republican game-playing was strong, swift, and severe.
At least the last time House Republicans tried this, they were smart enough not to announce to the entire country that they were attempting to hold the economy hostage and hurt millions of Americans.
House Republicans remain under the delusion that they can force Biden and the Democrats to agree to their cuts, which will make their eventual surrender all the more spectacular to watch.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association