Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is set to appear before the House Financial Committee to testify about how she calculated the so-called "X-date" the country could default on its debts, a source confirmed to the Washington Examiner.
Yellen is scheduled to meet with the panel on June 7, nearly one week after the expected June 1 default deadline. It’s not yet clear what lawmakers will question Yellen about, but the meeting comes after several House Republicans have publicly questioned whether the secretary’s timeline is legitimate or just an attempt from the Biden administration to accelerate a deal.
MAKE OR BREAK: THIS WEEK INTO NEXT IS CRITICAL WINDOW FOR DEBT CEILING NEGOTIATIONS
“Janet Yellen couldn’t see inflation coming like an oncoming train,” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) said on Tuesday. “But she wanders out of some backroom in the White House with a Ouija board under her arm telling us the first of the month is the number. And we’re supposed to take that as some sort of article of faith.”
Gaetz argued the United States is not at risk of missing its payments, noting the country has strong revenue that will continue coming in over the next few weeks. Instead, the Florida Republican has been vocal that Yellen should appear before Congress to present “receipts and deposits” that prove the country is on track to default.
“She should come to Congress and prove that,” Gaetz said. “I think she should come voluntarily. We shouldn’t have to execute a subpoena to get someone to come and show more of their work than your typical eighth grader with their algebra homework.”
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The comments come as the White House remains at an impasse with Republican negotiators on debt ceiling talks, with only eight days until the default deadline when the country could no longer be able to pay all of its debts. Negotiators for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and President Joe Biden met for roughly two hours on Tuesday afternoon, and it remains unclear when they plan to reconvene.
Meanwhile, McCarthy and Biden last met on Monday evening, marking their third sitdown since restarting negotiations earlier this month. The pair have not spoken since then, McCarthy said on Wednesday, but noted they will “all get together” soon.