White House rebukes Mitch McConnell, Rick Scott in debt limit fight

Jen Psaki, Image via AP.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki took U.S. Sen. Rick Scott to task Thursday without mentioning his name.

A reporter asked Psaki about the position taken by Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and Scott that the Republican Party would not participate in a decision to raise the debt limit.

“Let’s take a step back here. So these same Republicans, including former leader McConnell … felt during the Trump administration that we could absolutely not risk defaulting, that it would be devastating to our economy. I could provide you the quotes, I have the receipts,” Psaki said.

“He at the same time feels that way. They all feel that way. But at the same time, they are refusing to vote to increase the debt limit. So what are we doing here exactly? We are playing with the full faith and credit of the United States Treasury,” Psaki added.

“This is not a game to the President. This is about our economy. This is not about partisanship. This is about doing what has been done 80 times in the past, and raising the debt limit, including three times in the last administration even after $2 trillion in Trump tax cuts that were unpaid for were passed.”

The Psaki fusillade comes in the wake of obstructionist messaging Wednesday from Scott and McConnell as they take a seemingly futile stand. Even Scott acknowledged that the federal government cannot default, suggesting this position is more rooted in symbolism than reality.

Time is of the essence. The Senate and House must agree on a package to fund the government no later than Sept. 30 to keep operations going. Further, there is a danger of a larger default next month if the limit is not suspended yet again. The House earlier this week approved suspending the debt limit already on a party line vote.

Scott has consistently messaged against raising the debt limit, a position which has seen him struggle even on right-of-center talk shows. He was asked about his support of raising the threshold during the Trump administration on an episode of “Fox News Sunday“ earlier this year, when he was again messaging against Biden on debt.

He dodged giving a response, talking instead about his time governing Florida.