Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said that Republicans are in a “tough position” with regards to a debt deal because they still have to figure out what their side is willing to put forward, during an interview on “Fox News Sunday.” While Republicans have called on Democrats to propose cuts to entitlements, Geithner argued on Sunday that Democrats had put forward a detailed plan and that if Republicans want something different, then the ball is in their court.
“They’re in kind of a tough position now,” Geithner said. “They’re trying to figure out how to find a way to support things that they know they’re gonna have to do. That’s going to be hard for them. Again, you’ve heard them, for the first time I think in two decades now, acknowledge that they’re willing to have revenues go up as part of a balanced plan. That’s a good first step. But they have to tell us what they’re willing to do on rates and revenues. That’s going to be very hard for Republicans.”
Geithner returned to this theme later in the interview: “Again, if they need a little more time to figure out what they can do — what they want to do — that’s OK. We don’t have that much time though.”
