Donald Trump warns US ‘may be forced’ into economic ‘depression’ as $36T debt crisis spirals out of control
Story by Nina Joudeh & Jack Hobbs, 12/32/2024, The Independent
President-elect Donald Trump has warned that the U.S. could be on the brink of a “depression” as he attacked the debt ceiling deal agreed by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The President-Elect, who failed to get a new provision raising the debt ceiling passed by Congress, attacked Democrats on social media saying that they would “prefer ‘Depression’ as long as it hurt the Republican Party.”
In his post on Truth Social, Trump attacked the 2023 Fiscal Responsibility Act, which suspended the nation’s debt limit through January 1, 2025, calling it the “dumbest political decision made in years.” He wrote, “The extension of the Debt Ceiling by a previous Speaker of the House, a good man and a friend of mine, from this past September of the Biden Administration to June of the Trump Administration, will go down as one of the dumbest political decisions made in years.”
“There was no reason to do it – NOTHING WAS GAINED, and we got nothing for it – A major reason why that Speakership was lost,” he added. “It was Biden’s problem, not ours. Now it becomes ours. I call it ‘1929’ because the Democrats don’t care what our Country may be forced into.”
“In fact, they would prefer ‘Depression’ as long as it hurt the Republican Party,” Trump added. “The Democrats must be forced to take a vote on this treacherous issue NOW, during the Biden Administration, and not in June. They should be blamed for this potential disaster, not the Republicans!”
In the New Year, lawmakers will have to move quickly in order to raise the debt ceiling to prevent the U.S. from defaulting on its obligations. Should it default, several economists have agreed that the result would have dire economic consequences and could even spark a recession.
According to the Treasury Department, the national debt is currently at about $36 trillion. After the first of the year, the Treasury Department could invoke “extraordinary measures” to ensure the U.S. does not default on its debts. Janet Yellen, the current Treasury Secretary, penned a letter to Congress on Friday stating that the department might have to take “extraordinary measures” by as early as January 14 to prevent the U.S. from defaulting on its debt, per Newsweek.
She urged lawmakers to “act to protect the full faith and credit of the United States.” Several economists have hypothesized that Trump wants the ceiling taken care of sooner rather than later as it would be a major hindrance to many of his goals when he returns to office on January 20.