Kiggans on debt ceiling bill: ‘not everything we wanted, but big win for Republicans’

With just two days to spare, President Joe Biden signed legislation on Saturday that lifts the nation’s debt ceiling, averting a default on the federal government’s debt.

It was a decidedly low-key denouement to a monthslong drama that unnerved financial markets at home and abroad and caused anxious retirees and social service organizations to make contingency plans in case the country was unable to pay all its bills.

Instead of holding a public ceremony with lawmakers from both parties — showcasing the bipartisanship that Biden had cited in an Oval Office address on Friday evening — the president signed the legislation in private in a reflection of the tight deadline facing the nation’s leaders.

The Treasury Department had warned that the country would start running short of cash on Monday, which would have sent shockwaves through the U.S. and global economies.

The Eastern Shore’s Congressional Representative Jen Kiggans, a Republican, supported the compromise bill. She joined WESR on Shore Talk Monday to discuss the bill and her rationale: