JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on Sunday said Democrats should act on the debt ceiling before Republicans take over the House in the next Congress.
Asked by “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan whether the government should take action during the current lame-duck session in the last few weeks of their control of the lower chamber, Dimon said on CBS that he’d encourage it.
“They should because the catastrophic effects of an actual default, not the debates. I understand both sides why we want it, how they want to use it is, that’s catastrophic, or potentially catastrophic. I would never take that risk. So for me, yes, I’d get it done now. Take it off the table,” Dimon said.
Democrats have been pushing to raise the debt ceiling, or the top amount the federal government can borrow, in order to avert a debt default, which many have warned could wreak havoc on the country’s economy, already strained under inflation and recession woes.
The party hopes to work with Republicans to address the issue before they hand over control of the House in January — and avoid a partisan showdown with the GOP during the next Congress.
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said last month that he was aiming for a bipartisan fix on the debt ceiling during this work period.
Dimon last year called for Congress to get rid of the debt ceiling because of the risk of economic disaster posed every time the government approaches it.
“I just think this whole thing is mistaken and one day we should just have a bipartisan bill and get rid of the debt ceiling. It’s all politics… it’s a potentially catastrophic event,” Dimon said at the time.
A number of Democrats have also been pushing to abolish the limit, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.