Press Review of the Americas

In the News: the tug-of-war over the US debt ceiling hardens

In the United States, negotiations on future U.S. budget spending and on the authorization to borrow to meet the country's bills are more difficult than expected. © AP/Matt Slocum

Text by: Aabla Jounaïdi Follow

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In the United States, Democratic and Republican representatives have only a few days left to agree on an increase in the US debt ceiling. Before a potential default. The fateful date is June 1, according to the US Treasury. If no bipartisan agreement is reached, the government will no longer be able to pay its bills. The question was invited to the G7 summit. The newspaper Politico points out that Joe Biden can be proud of having closed the ranks of his allies against China and Russia, especially to support Ukraine. But that the question-and-answer session that followed Joe Biden's press conference was largely devoted to "disorder in Washington.

Frustration

And the American press recalls the threat that this default would pose to economic stability. "We've seen this movie before," NPR relativizes. The American public radio gives the floor to market experts who for the moment do not note panic movements. A congressional official, speaking on condition of anonymity, likened the ordeal to kidney stones, the outlet reported. "We know it's going to pass, but it remains to be seen how painful it will be." Because of course, everyone knows, Republicans and Democrats alike, that a US default would be devastating, with global repercussions, given the importance of the dollar and US Treasuries in the global economy.

Meanwhile, both sides accuse each other of playing with fire. If the fateful date of June 1 is approaching, the positions of Republicans and Democrats are doing the opposite, points out Politico. Finally, a new meeting is expected this Monday afternoon in Washington, between a Joe Biden back from Japan and the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy. "McCarthy, like the White House, is trying not to be held responsible for the failure of the negotiations," Politico summarizes. But frustration is great in the White House, which, in front of it, sees Republicans united and "determined to link the issue of the federal budget and the lifting of the debt ceiling," summarizes the online daily.

A Republican "Obama" for 2024?

Among the Republicans, two contenders for the presidential election of 2024 must announce their candidacy this week, against Donald Trump. On the right is Senator Tim Scott, Senator from South Carolina. The man of African-American origin is expected to announce his candidacy for the party's primary this Monday in his state. Politico devotes a portrait to him in 50 points where we learn that he would have dreamed that his late father, a voter of Barack Obama, could see the first black president accede to the White House... This time, Republican.

Even further to the right, he will face another candidate who must also come out of the woodwork this week, Ron DeSantis. The very controversial senator from Florida is playing one-upmanship to try to exist against Donald Trump. It makes talk with its laws hostile to ethnic and sexual minorities. So much so that the NAACP, the civil rights organization, called for a boycott of trips to Florida. American newspapers, including the Huffington Post, also echo this call, but also the sharp words of the former Republican elected representative of Florida, David Jolly.

The defector of the party confided in MSNBC and would consider leaving the "sunshine state" to avoid his children to grow up, "in an environment where they would be judged for their openness to others," says the former Californian elected official.

Scandal from beyond the grave

Beyond death, Jeffrey Epstein is still talking about him. This is one more episode in the scandals attributable to the American financier and sex criminal found hanged in his cell 4 years ago. The businessman, according to the investigation of the financial daily TheWall Street Journal would have threatened to reveal an extramarital affair of the co-founder of Microsoft if he did not provide financial support to his foundation. Threats made by email and which the Wall Street Journal was able to obtain confirmation from Bill Gates' spokesman.

"El Popo", more active than ever

Mexico, on a war footing in the face of the eruption of the Popocatepetl volcano. The National Guard and army mobilized after the triggering of the third-level yellow alert this weekend. Thousands of forces, reports the newspaper El Proceso, ready in case of need to evacuate the affected populations. But even if we are only one step away from the red alert, "there is currently no need to carry out evacuations," reassures the daily La Razon. But "el Popo", as it is called, "is more active than ever", explain the experts interviewed in this newspaper. It is necessary to prepare for a possible explosion, warns one of them.

The ashfall has already led to the temporary closure of Benito Juarez International Airport. The one in Puebla, east of the capital Mexico City, remains closed and face-to-face classes are suspended until further notice in the state, reports La Razon.

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