Speaker McCarthy is risking the American economy for a MAGA wish list

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is playing a dangerous game. After months of refusing to offer any solution to the approaching default date, the Speaker is now pushing a reckless plan. His proposal: a slew of far-right policies that would cripple middle-class Americans for an agreement to raise the debt ceiling for just one year.

Instead of doing the responsible thing and raising the debt ceiling — like Republicans did under President Trump three times with no objection — McCarthy is holding the economy hostage with an extreme MAGA wish list.

For the party that claims to be “fiscally responsible,” McCarthy and House Republicans are ready to let the United States default on our bills to get what they want.

While it took him over 100 days to write, his extreme policies don’t come as a shock. His legislation would leave local communities with less funding for schools, first responders, veterans’ benefits, and health centers. It would also slash social programs and safety nets, prohibit student loan forgiveness, significantly roll back our efforts to fight climate change, and defund federal employees. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

If Republicans truly cared about governing — or protecting the American people for that matter — they would stop playing this game. We need to raise the debt ceiling to save our economy, not play a game of chicken just so Republicans can debate another messaging bill that will never make it to the president’s desk.

Bottom line: this McCarthy scheme puts us one step closer to default. 

A default would wipe out millions of good-paying jobs, many of which Democrats created last Congress by bringing manufacturing jobs back home, revitalizing our infrastructure, and investing in clean energy. It would plunge our growing economy into a recession, destroy global markets, increase prices for working families, and wipe out retirement savings and pensions for Americans in California and across the country.

Raising the debt ceiling is about meeting obligations the government has already made — it has nothing to do with new spending. And while Republicans love to point fingers at Democrats, this bill is theirs to pay, too. They repeatedly voted for trillions of dollars’ worth of tax cuts for the wealthy and well-connected.

Republicans charged some expensive things on the credit card to help their wealthy friends. Now, they are trying to skip out on the bill.

If Republicans were really concerned about paying down the deficit, they would be wise to follow the example Democrats set last Congress. Under President Biden, we lowered the deficit by a record $1.7 trillion by creating a tax system that makes the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share and helps working families and small businesses get ahead.

But Speaker McCarthy’s suggestions on how to address the deficit are nonsensical. In February, I worked with my Democratic colleagues on the Ways and Means Committee to push back on his “debt prioritization” proposal that would have paid China back before issuing veterans benefits, paying servicemembers, delivering tax refunds and more.

And when he isn’t pushing his extreme policies, McCarthy is doing everything he can to distract the American people from his party’s chaos and incompetence. Two weeks ago, he took a trip up to Wall Street to talk about his economic priorities. While there, he failed to lay out anything that resembled a sound economic strategy. He did, however, show us that he cares more about Wall Street executives than he does about working people.

For Speaker McCarthy, it’s a game. For the American people, it’s a threat to financial stability. There are real costs to playing fast-and-loose with our economy. In previous debt ceiling stand-offs in 2011 and 2013, the threat of default alone led to even higher costs for working families.

Republicans are threatening to wreck our economy just to get what they want. It’s a dangerous game that needs to end. It’s time to raise the debt ceiling.

Linda Sánchez represents the 38th District of California and is a member of the Ways and Means Committee.