The chaos surrounding the Republican effort to elect a new speaker of the House is feeding concerns about how difficult it could be to raise the federal debt limit when the time comes sometime later this year. Some conservative lawmakers are expected to use the debt ceiling as a negotiating chip as part of an effort to cut federal spending, raising the threat of default in the process.
Rep. Brendan Boyle (PA), the top-ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee, told Bloomberg that he is becoming more worried about the likely conflict over the debt ceiling, which analysts expect to need attention as soon as the third quarter of 2023. “The last 48 hours have only raised my level of concern,” he said. “Failing to raise the debt ceiling would be catastrophic, not just to the United States but to the world.”
Brian Gardner, chief Washington strategist at the investment banking firm Stifel Nicolaus, told clients in a note that the “dysfunction is a clear signal,” and that investors “should be on guard as the summer approaches” because “brinkmanship over the debt ceiling could lead to market volatility.”
