In his first interview as Senate Majority Leader on Sunday, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) vowed again that there would be no government shutdown or default on the national debt as the deadline to raise the ceiling looms near, potentially surrendering the party's leverage over the debate.
Speaking on CBS’s Face the Nation, McConnell "made it very clear" that,
“We’re certainly not going to shut down the government or default on the national debt.”
He went on to suggest that Republicans could use the debt-ceiling hike to their advantage by tying in some “important legislation” in line with the party’s policy initiatives.
“We’ll figure some way to handle that and hopefully it might carry some other important legislation that we can agree on in connection with it,” McConnell said.
The debt ceiling expires Sunday.
Check out the interview below.