‘Modest pessimism’: McHenry assesses confidence level in reaching debt ceiling deal

Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) said on Sunday that he has “modest pessimism” when it comes to his confidence level in reaching a debt ceiling deal as the ​​deadline nears to avoid default.

During an appearance on CBS’s “Face The Nation,” moderator Margaret Brennan asked about his level of confidence that lawmakers will reach an agreement to raise the debt ceiling, also mentioning Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s (I-Ariz.) remarks on his proposals for the potential deal. 

In a separate interview with “Face The Nation,” Sinema said that she doesn’t believe the debt ceiling bill passed through the House chamber will have enough votes to pass in the Senate. 

“Instead of being at the depths of the ocean, I’m merely drowning. I mean, if that tells you that- so, my level of optimism is from complete and utter pessimism that anything can get done to some level of modest pessimism now,” McHenry told Brennan. “What’s changed since that interview is that the House acted, we passed a debt ceiling increase with a Republican plan attached to it.”

McHenry also said that he believes the bill will be a narrow vote in the Senate, noting how his proposed plan has already touched base on immediate spending and long-term savings. 

“The President said, show us your plan, we’ve not only shown him the plan, we’ve passed a plan. The Senate can’t do it, now with 43 senators saying we’re not going to go along with the Schumer plan for a clean debt ceiling increase, the Biden plan,” McHenry added. 

“And now the Biden- President Biden has to come to the table for a negotiated solution. He needs to listen to his economic advisors, not his political advisors, and take this very seriously, given the late stage that we’re currently at.”

McHenry’s remarks come as Biden is set to meet with congressional leaders this week on the matter, inviting four congressional leaders to meet with him after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen informed lawmakers that they have until June 1 to raise the nation’s debt ceiling. 

The Treasury Department began implementing extraordinary measures to prevent the government from defaulting after the U.S. hit its debt ceiling earlier in January.