McCaul ‘optimistic’ US won’t default on bills

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said on Sunday that he does not believe the United States will default on its bills, noting that the nation’s adversaries would “love” to see the country default.

McCaul said he agreed with Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, who said last week that defaulting on the debt would “only reinforce that thought and embolden China and increase risk to the United States.” McCaul added on Sunday that he is “optimistic” the U.S. will not default on its bills with the deadline to raise the debt ceiling as early as June 1.

“Our adversaries look at this very closely. They look at when we’re divided. … I think they would love nothing more, particularly China, to see us default in our full faith and credit under the Constitution,” McCaul told Jonathan Karl on ABC’s “This Week.” “I think defaulting is not the right path to go down.”

“And I agree with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs that our adversaries are looking at this, and we have to be very careful what we do. I’m optimistic we will get to a place where we can avoid that situation,” he added.

McCaul also said that defaulting would be “catastrophic” and noted that the Republicans have laid out a plan to avoid it. He said that President Biden now has to come back with a plan to avoid the default.

“I think we were reasonable,” he said. “We’re willing to raise the debt ceiling, but we want meaningful spending cuts and capping spending … at 2022 levels.”