Yellen expresses openness to raising debt ceiling via reconciliation

“Should it be done on a bipartisan basis? Absolutely. Now, if they’re not going to cooperate, I don’t want to play chicken and end up not raising the debt ceiling. I think that’s the worst possible outcome,” Yellen told The Washington Post. “If Democrats have to do it by themselves, that’s better than defaulting on the debt to teach the Republicans a lesson.”

While condemning the Republican approach as “completely irresponsible,” Yellen also expressed openness to Democrats using the part of the reconciliation procedure called “Section 304” to resolve the debt ceiling impasse to circumvent the filibuster. Senate Democrats on the budget committee previously ruled out that approach.