A Republican congressman is trying to allay fears on Wall Street that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s departure may raise the chances of U.S. debt default.
Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) was asked Thursday if Cantor’s defeat at a hands of a conservative primary challenger may cause a return to dangerous brinkmanship over the debt limit that led to a near-breach in 2011.
“We’re going to do everything to avoid that,” the congressman told reporters.
The United States’ borrowing authority won’t need to be raised again until after the November congressional elections — it is scheduled to expire in March 2015.
“The Speaker has made it very clear that we are not going to become the issue in this election [or next election],” Nunes said.
Nunes also warned that “the more exotic” House Republicans “aren’t going to vote for anything, no matter what it is.”
