
Democrats attempt the near-impossible: Shaming Mitch McConnell
CNN
Democrats are trying something that almost never works: Shaming Mitch McConnell into doing the right thing by citing the national interest, historical precedent and governing norms.
As the nation hurtles toward a financial catastrophe this month, President Joe Biden is heaping pressure on the Republican Senate minority leader to share the burden of raising the federal borrowing limit. This accounting maneuver is normally a bipartisan custom, but McConnell is refusing to help -- even though the US is on the hook for huge debts run up under the Trump administration.
"I think quite frankly it's hypocritical, dangerous and disgraceful," Biden said at the White House on Monday, adding that he couldn't guarantee that the US wouldn't default on its debt and throw the global economy into chaos. His dire remarks took the showdown to another level and helped knock nearly a full percentage point off the Dow Jones Industrial Average on a rocky day.