Moderate GOP lawmaker says there’s ‘wiggle room’ in debt default deadline

Moderate Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.) said on Sunday that he sees “wiggle room” in the proposed June 1 deadline to raise the debt ceiling and prevent default.

“The June 1 date was probably, according to Secretary [Janet] Yellen, the earliest possible date,” Fitzpatrick, who co-chairs the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

“A technical default would mean that we don’t have enough cash flow to pay the interest on our debt,” he added. “We do have enough cash flow to do that. We’re gonna start to see the state tax revenues come in about the second week of June, so I think we are okay on that.” 

“We will have time, and I really do think that we should allow leeway and flexibility for the Speaker and the president, who both understand the gravity of this situation, to work this out,” Fitzpatrick said.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has repeatedly warned lawmakers that the U.S. could default on its debt as early as June 1.

With less than two weeks before the so-called x-date, negotiations between President Biden and Republicans broke down on Friday but then quickly resumed. Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) accused the White House of “moving backwards,” while Biden called on Republicans to “move from their extreme positions.”  

The two are set to talk on the phone on Sunday, as Biden returns from the Group of Seven (G-7) summit in Japan.

Fitzpatrick noted that while lawmakers should “assume” that the default deadline is June 1, he added, “I think the math tells us that there is a little bit of wiggle room.”

“It’s incredibly time sensitive,” Fitzpatrick said. “There’s no question about it. The conversations can’t come soon enough.”