With Republicans and Democrats coming to terms in Congress to extend the debt ceiling through Dec. 3, some have a sour taste in their mouth with how the agreement was met.
Rep. Dean Phillips shared his strong opinion on the matter with News Talk 830 WCCO's Chad Hartman.
"I spent a lot of time wondering why things happen and don't happen in congress," he said. "This is confounding."
Phillips shared that as a Democrat, he voted to address the debt ceiling during the last presidential administration, as it is "what we do when we place country above politics and party."
However, the solution that both parties agreed to today was not a solution, Phillips said. Instead, he said it's a "band-aid," only patching over the problem, not fixing it.
"I just don't get it," he said. "I'm appalled, and I'm disappointed, and I'm dumbfounded."
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Phillips said the notion from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell that Democrats will have to fix the issue on their own doesn't make sense. He compared it to playing hockey without a puck.
"I think I speak for a lot of Minnesotans, no matter your politics, when I say I have had enough of this crap," Phillips said.
When it comes to the talks surrounding the nation's debt and what to do with it, negotiations will continue for the next few months until the Dec. 3 deadline.
With talks having gone nowhere for months, many wondered why they would delay the inevitable with neither side budging.
"There are too many people in congress, including Mr. McConnell, who are not there to make deals," Phillips said. "They're there to prevent them; they're there for self-preservation, not for principal. I do not cast blame on just one party or the other."
When it comes to what McConnell is fighting for, Phillips said he is putting his own party's interests over what's best for the country. He says this is putting the nation at threat of not being the safest place for foreign investors to deploy their capital.
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If foreign investors choose to go elsewhere with their money, Phillips said it is "so substantial and so severe" that the outcomes may not ever be undone, and many don't understand it.
When it comes to Republicans not wanting to pay the bills, Phillips pointed out that the Trump administration added $7.8 trillion to the national debt.
"The credit card bill has now been sent, it's in our hands, and we democrats are saying 'The money that was spent under the Trump administration we are obligated to pay,'" Phillips said. "And we are trying to."
As for those across the aisle from Phillips, he can't help but scratch his head and be disappointed in the minority leader.
"There is nothing less conservative to me than not honoring your obligations," Phillips said.
