Using a bizarre analogy, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) accused Republicans of being willing to "take their own child hostage" and “shoot [their] own child" if Democrats do not agree to federal spending cuts in exchange for GOP support in raising the debt ceiling.
The federal government is slated to reach its $16.69 trillion borrowing limit by early September.
"In effect, what they're doing is they're taking their own child hostage, their child in this case being the United States of America's credit, taking their own child hostage, and telling us (Democrats), ‘If you don't pay ransom, we're gonna shoot our own child'," Hoyer told reporters at a press briefing on Capitol Hill Tuesday.
"Republicans talk about what they want to get from us in order to vote for the debt limit extension. The problem with that, of course, is that almost all the Republican leaders have said that defaulting on the debt is an unacceptable alternative," Hoyer added.
Hoyer, the number two Democrat in the House, also criticized a Republican proposal by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) to defund Obamacare by not including money for the controversial health care law in any continuing resolution to keep the government running.
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