White House Accuses GOP of ‘Economic Vandalism’ Over Debt Limit

(Bloomberg) — The White House accused congressional Republicans of “unprecedented economic vandalism” Wednesday after an Arizona congressman said the US should decline to raise the debt ceiling, intensifying the rhetorical battle over the spending limit.

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The White House seized on comments made by Andy Biggs — an Arizona Republican who said he did not support increasing the debt ceiling – to accuse Republicans of risking a default that would “needlessly plunge the country into economic chaos, collapse, and catastrophe while giving our competitors like China an historic boost.”

“This president and the American people will not stand for unprecedented economic vandalism,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said. “Full stop.”

Biggs made the remarks in a Tuesday tweet, in which Biggs said Democrats should accept federal spending levels’ consequences.

Majority of Republicans, including House leaders, said that they would be willing to increase the debt ceiling if Democrats agreed to make significant cuts in federal spending. Both Senate Democrats and White House said that they will not negotiate on the issue.

The exchange was a sign of a growing war of words over debt ceiling. Economists warn that this could lead to financial market turmoil. A 2011 standoff over the debt ceiling — a statutory limit that constricts the federal government’s ability to borrow, even to finance existing spending — prompted Standard & Poor’s to issue the first-ever downgrade of the US government’s credit rating.

Read more: What’s the Debt Ceiling, and Will the US Raise It?

Janet Yellen, US Treasury Secretary, stated last week that the department would begin to take special accounting maneuvers on Thursday in order for the government’s obligations to be met through at least June.

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