House Republicans aren’t very good at it. Instead of being subtle, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) called the U.S. economy “our hostage” while discussing the debt limit.
Here is Gaetz:
There’s a lot of interest in Gaetz’s audio, so here it is. I conducted a brief interview with him ahead of a vote in the House earlier today to get his perspective on the 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 fabricated crisis is about to backfire. Do Republicans think President Biden is negotiating to hear each other 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 defaults, the blame will fall on House Republicans like a ton of bricks.
The inexperienced House Republican caucus has no experience of what happened to Republicans when they tried to play debt-limiting games with Obama. Public reaction to the Republican game was strong, swift and severe.
At least the last time House Republicans tried this, they were smart enough not to tell the whole country that they were trying to hold the economy hostage and hurt millions of Americans.
House Republicans remain under the illusion that they can coerce Biden and the Democrats into accepting their cuts, which will make their eventual surrender all the more spectacular to watch.
Jason is the editor. He is also a member of the White House press pool and a congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason holds a bachelor’s degree in political science. His graduate studies 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