Pelosi chides Republicans for not voting on the debt limit: ‘Why should Democrats always come to the rescue?’

‘The former president was famous for not paying his bills, and they want to do that again’

House SpeakerNancy Pelosi chided Republicans for not voting to raise the debt limit on Thursday, asking why Democrats always need to be more responsible.

The House Speaker hosted Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen during her weekly press conference. On Tuesday, the House voted to extend the debt limit until December 2022 and keep the government open until 3 December of this year.

“They voted to shut down government and not honour the full faith and credit of the United States of America,” Ms Pelosi said, noting that the bill included disaster relief for those affected by Hurricane Ida, which affected multiple Republican districts.

The House vote was strictly along party lines, with all 220 Democrats voting for it and 211 Republicans voting against it. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has indicated he will not support lifting the debt limit.

The White House budget office has reportedly told federal agencies to prepare for the possibility of a government shutdown amid fears a funding resolution may not be reached.

Ms Pelosi criticised her Republican colleagues for making it a contentious topic.

“Why should it be that we as Democrats always come to the rescue when it's a Republican president,” she told reporters, noting that she and other Democrats voted to lift the debt limit, including when Donald Trump was president.

“The former president was famous for not paying his bills, and they want to do that again,” she said. “But we cannot let them do that and jeopardise our economy.”

Ms Yellen has already warned Congress that the department could run out of tools for maintaining the full faith and credit of the United States by October.