Joe Biden's Debt Limit Position Is Losing Support

Support for President Joe Biden's debt ceiling approach is weakening as the United States edges closer to a debt default, a new poll found.

The U.S. is less than a month away from defaulting on its debt, which Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen predicted could happen as early as June 1. Depending on the severity of the default, America could see massive job losses, heightened interest rates or a recession. To prevent a default, the federal government must either spend less money, raise its debt ceiling or both, but Democrats and Republicans are struggling to find a solution that satisfies both parties.

Biden has been locked in a stalemate with Republican members of Congress since February, when he and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy met to negotiate. Since the meeting, House Republicans passed a bill raising the debt ceiling while slashing federal spending. The bill is unlikely pass in the Democrat-controlled Senate, as Biden has advocated for a bill that raises the debt ceiling without cutting spending on key federal agencies like the Department of Transportation and the Department of Agriculture.

In a poll conducted by ABC News/Washington Post, most Americans still preferred Biden's plan over that of the Republicans, but the president's approach has started to lose support.

The poll found that 58 percent of Americans agreed with Biden's position that debt payment and federal spending cuts shouldn't be packaged together. Only 26 percent agreed with the Republicans' plan to raise the debt ceiling only if the Biden administration agrees to spending cuts.

However, support for Biden has weakened since February, when 65 percent of Americans agreed with his position.

Nonpartisan political consultant Jay Townsend called the stubborn approach to the nation's debt "political brinkmanship that threatens the credit rating of the United States." He told Newsweek that he doesn't "put a lot of stock" in a poll about Biden's handling of the debt ceiling as the numbers are bound to change if impacts are felt by those benefiting from federal programs.

"Whatever those numbers are today will change quickly if seniors are not getting Social Security checks this summer because Republicans played games with the debt ceiling," Townsend said.

The poll also found that if the U.S. were to default on its $31.5 trillion debt, immediately impacting economies around the world and costing Americans more money, each party would be blamed, with 39 percent of poll takers admitting that they would blame Republicans, 36 percent saying they'd blame Biden and 16 percent saying they'd blame both equally.

Of the Republicans polled, 46 percent agreed with Biden's reasoning of keeping the debt and spending cuts separate, while 40 percent followed their party's beliefs. Independents favored separating debt payments and spending cuts with 58 percent, with 74 percent of Democrats favoring the president's position.