To give a little background, Republicans are hyper-focused on the debt ceiling: the amount that the federal government can borrow to pay our existing bills. Similar to a credit card, there's a limit to how much we can spend.
When we hit that limit, which happened yesterday, we can't borrow anymore. From here, Congress usually does what it's done for decades: agree to increase the debt ceiling with no added conditions.
This time is different though. Remember the 15 rounds of voting we had to go through to get a Speaker? To secure votes, McCarthy made deals with other members of the GOP, promising that:
1️⃣ Spending levels for 2024 would remain at the same levels as 2022 (impossible)
2️⃣ An increase in the debt ceiling would come with spending cuts, potentially targeting Social Security and Medicaid (disgraceful)
To give Republicans time to sort things out, the Treasury Department's forced to use "extraordinary measures" to keep the government open, giving Congress til June to act on the debt ceiling to avoid defaulting on our debt.
But if by June we still haven't made a decision, defaulting on our debt is where the real chaos begins – especially for our constituents. They could miss out on:
❌ Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid payments
❌ Tax refunds
❌ Student loan/grant payouts
To put it simply: House Republicans are willing to destroy our economy and our lives all for some silly political games.
That's not why you elected me, and that's not why I show up for work. John, I'm here to do the people's job.
This is just the beginning of the political mess we'll have to sort through to get our communities the help we need. To keep going, we need as many people on Team Delia as possible. Will you donate today and join our team?
