Schumer To Open Senate Session With Debt Ceiling Speech

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is expected to address House Republican brinkmanship over the debt ceiling in a speech when the Senate convenes for its first legislative session of the year today.

• Schumer will say: “The debt limit is a first big test for House Republicans if they will practice what they preach. House Republicans should follow their own new rules [...] that means committee markups and then open amendments on the floor.”
• Schumer has been amongst the most combative Democrat lawmakers on the debt limit saying in a statement last week: “America pays its debts. Period. There should be no political brinkmanship with the debt limit. It’s reckless for Speaker [Kevin] McCarthy [R-CA] and MAGA Republicans to try and use the full faith and credit of the United States as a political bargaining chip. A default would be catastrophic for America’s working families and lead to higher costs.”
• Chad Pegram at Fox News reports that, Schumer will try to "underscore the dissonance" between the narrow GOP majority in the House and "how challenging the debt ceiling issue can be" in his speech.