Van Hollen: Lawmakers should move to ‘Plan B’ as debt ceiling talks stall

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) suggested on Sunday that lawmakers should move to “Plan B” after debt ceiling negotiations between the White House and Republicans broke down once again.

“I’m extremely worried about where we are now. I think the markets are going to get shaky,” Van Hollen said on ABC’s “This Week.” “I think we need to move to Plan B, which is what’s called the discharge petition in the House.”

“It seems to me we’re going to have to move in that direction pretty soon,” he added.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen says he is "extremely worried" amid ongoing debt and budget negotiations, telling @MarthaRaddatz that Democrats should now look to their "Plan B" to try to move their own deal through the House via a discharge petition. https://t.co/DrVev3kh3Z pic.twitter.com/zDRSQ5hBdK

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) May 21, 2023

A discharge petition would allow Democrats to bypass Republican leaders in the House if they can secure majority support for a proposal. This would require at least five House Republicans to defect from their conference.

Democrats began collecting signatures on the petition last Wednesday, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) urging every member of his caucus to get behind the effort.

The push to consider other options to avoid a potentially catastrophic default comes after Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) signaled on Saturday that debt limit negotiations could not move forward until President Biden returned from a Group of Seven (G-7) summit in Japan.

“Unfortunately, the White House moved backwards,” McCarthy told reporters. “I don’t think we’re going to be able to move forward until the president can get back in the country.”

Biden hit back on Sunday, calling on House Republicans to “move from their extreme positions.”

Van Hollen on Sunday also suggested that Biden should consider “all legal options” to address the debt ceiling, including using the 14th Amendment.

“It’s not the preferred option because there’s a lot of uncertainty around that approach,” he said, later adding, “The difference is that option would be better than a default. The United States has never defaulted in its history. It would create a catastrophe in the economy.” 

“So, the 14th Amendment is not the preferred alternative,” he added. “A lot of people predict that even if you go the route of the 14th Amendment you go into a recession. But if you default, we’re talking about depression.”

–Updated at 10:21 a.m.