Kevin McCarthy’s Nightmare: Strong Majority Agree With Biden On Debt Limit

Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 02:58 pm

A new Monmouth University Poll found that Americans agree with President Biden’s position by a more than 2 to 1 margin on the debt limit.

According to the Monmouth University Poll:

Some people say the country will suffer significant economic problems if the debt ceiling is not raised. More Americans say these expectations are accurate (42%) than believe they are exaggerated (30%), although 28% have no opinion on this. Among those who have heard a lot about the current debt limit debate, a clear majority of 56% say predictions of economic turmoil are accurate while 33% say they are exaggerated. Overall, Democrats are more likely to say that expectations of economic problems from default are accurate (58%) rather than exaggerated (15%), while Republicans are more likely to have a contrary opinion (47% exaggerated and 26% accurate).

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Just 1 in 4 (25%) Americans think the debt ceiling should be tied to negotiations over spending on federal programs, while half (51%) say the two issues should be dealt with separately. Among those who have heard a lot about the current debate, the number who say the two issues should be dealt with separately rises slightly to 58%. A clear majority (65%) of Democrats say the debt ceiling should be handled on its own. Republicans are evenly divided between handling the debt limit separately (37%) and tying it to federal spending negotiations (37%).

Kevin McCarthy Doesn’t Have A Majority Of Republicans Agreeing With Him

Kevin McCarthy can’t even get a majority of Republicans behind his position that spending cuts must be part of a debt limit increase.

House Republicans are running with glee into a slow-moving disaster for them that is unfolding for everyone to see in front of them.

If McCarthy and the Republicans insist on plunging the nation into default, the floor of support is going to fall immediately out from under Kevin McCarthy and his House Republicans.

Kevin McCarthy has been blaming everyone and everything else for the debt ceiling crisis that he and his caucus have caused. 

The nightmare scenario for Republicans is that McCarthy’s weakness sinks the entire party. The Monmouth University Poll suggests that if they cause a default, the GOP nightmare will become a reality.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association