Biden vows to veto Republicans' economic 'chaos'

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Joe Biden vowed Thursday to veto the economic "chaos" posed by Republicans amid an ongoing standoff over raising the national debt limit.

Biden touted stronger-than-expected economic growth figures released earlier in the day, which put growth for the last quarter at 2.9% -- significantly higher than the 2.6% predicted by the market -- as well as continued strength in the US job market. The president said Republicans in the House of Representatives are "threatening to destroy this progress."

"They're actually threatening to have us default on the American debt, the debt that's been accumulated over 230 years," Biden told supporters during an event in Virginia.

"Why in God's name would Americans give up the progress we've made for the chaos they're suggesting? I don't get it. That's why the MAGA Republicans deliberately choose to inflict this kind of pain on the American people. Why? Why? This nation has gone through too much. We've come too far to let that happen. I will not let it happen. Not on my watch. I will veto everything they send me," he added, to applause.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has repeatedly called on Congress to raise the US's debt limit, taking extraordinary stopgap measures to ensure the country does not default in the short term. She has warned that failure to reach a debt limit deal may cause a global financial crisis.

The House of Representatives is currently controlled by the Republican Party, and GOP lawmakers there have demanded sweeping federal government spending cuts if they are to accede to increasing the debt limit. They have not, however, uniformly identified which programs should get the axe.

The US government has never defaulted on its debt, while the debt ceiling has been raised a total of 22 times between 1997-2022.​​​​​​​