There will be no winner in the debt ceiling debate after the dust settles. President Joe Bidden may claim victory in avoiding drastic spending cuts proposed by Republicans. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy can praise his efforts in limiting federal spending and implementing work requirements in aid programs.
However, the chaos created in the whole process has exposed the dysfunction of Washington at its worst. The deal is expected, but hurdles are still important to overcome. The House will vote on the debt; It will send to the Senate for approval if it passes easily. The U.S. government has only time till 5 June; otherwise, they are out of money to pay its bills.
Once the deal is finalized, both parties will claim victory, despite grumblings from progressives and conservatives. However, it is important to overcome fighting over financial obligations that have already been settled, and fighting over these financial obligations is not an effective way to govern a country.
The debt ceiling debate has also undermined America’s international standings and credibility because of political issues. As the national intelligence director warned, China and Russia can easily use this threat against America of default to argue that the U.S. political system is unstable and cannot be trustable.
This kind of behavior by both sides is not a responsible way to do productive negotiations. It is the perfect time to consider doing away with the debt ceiling altogether, especially considering the growing consequences of the GOP.
