Biden to meet with business leaders amid debt ceiling pressure campaign on GOP

President Biden on Wednesday will meet with a group of business leaders about the need for action on the debt ceiling, as the White House warns of the catastrophic risks of default.

Biden will meet virtually and in-person with a range of business leaders. A White House official said the group will include Citi CEO Jane Fraser, Raytheon CEO Greg Hayes, National Association of REALTORS President Charlie Oppler, AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins, Nasdaq President and CEO Adena Friedman, Deloitte LLP global CEO Punit Renjen, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger and Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan.

“These executives represent some of America’s best-known companies and industries, and they understand firsthand that a default would be economically devastating – risking millions of jobs and throwing our country into recession, and causing lasting harm to America’s economic strength by threatening the dollar’s status as the currency the world relies on and downgrading the U.S.’s credit rating,” the White House official said. 

Biden plans to reiterate the cost of delay in action to suspend or raise the debt ceiling and criticize Republicans for their “obstruction and political games” on the issue, the official said.

“The President will detail the Republican obstruction that has led us to this point, with the GOP refusing to do the right thing by fulfilling its bipartisan responsibility to address the debt limit – even after adding $8 trillion under the previous administration,” the White House official said.

The meeting is the latest attempt by the White House to exert pressure on Republicans to back down from filibustering Democratic attempts to suspend the debt ceiling through regular order.

Thus far, Republicans have refused to vote to suspend or raise the debt ceiling and demanded Democrats do so through budget reconciliation, a lengthy process that allows them to sidestep the legislative filibuster.

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has teed up another vote Wednesday that Republicans are expected to block.

Biden escalated his rhetoric against Republicans earlier this week, demanding that they “get out of the way” and allow Democrats to suspend the debt ceiling. 

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, and White House adviser Cedric Richmond will also join the meeting at the White House Wednesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the White House Council of Economic Advisers warned in a blog post Wednesday that a default “would fundamentally hinder the Federal government from serving the American people” and “have serious and protracted financial and economic effects.” 

“Everyone in America would feel the effects of a default. If the United States were to default, tens of millions—including families with children, retirees, and veterans—would quickly, even overnight in some cases, face the prospect of losing the regular Federal payments that help them to make ends meet,” the blog post states.