Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Sunday declined to say whether he was willing to shut down the government in order to achieve a sufficient debt-reduction deal for Republicans.
Pressed repeatedly on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” McConnell instead placed responsibility on President Obama for leading the country and avoiding a shutdown.
“I know what your question is,” McConnell said. “What I’m telling you is I haven’t given up on the president stepping up to the plate and tackling the single biggest issue confronting the country.”
Host David Gregory responded by naming Republican Senators who have said at least a partial government shutdown may be necessary. “As the leader of the Republicans, would you rule it out?” he said.
“As the leader of the Republicans what I’m telling you is we elected the president to be president. It’s time for him to step up to the plate and lead us in the direction of reducing our excessive spending,” McConnell said.
