Listen Live

WASHINGTON — The U.S. is poised to default on its debt this month unless Congress can raise the debt ceiling.

Most Republicans are laying that responsibility solely on Democrats who have majorities in both chambers. Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) agrees with the GOP stance on the debt ceiling but adds that he is not voting to raise the debt ceiling on principle.

“Both parties, and I’m one of the few Republicans that say it, have been guilty of bringing us into this broken system,” Braun said on MSNBC. “I didn’t vote to raise the debt ceiling when I was here in 2019, one of few Republicans that will practice what they preach.”

Braun said if Republicans feel the system is broken, they shouldn’t accommodate it.

The debt that the U.S. would default on this month would be money that has already been spent. This means any of the spending measures that are being discussed in Congress right now are not included.

With that in mind, Braun said that with the national debt sitting at around $28 trillion, reforms are needed in Congress to reign in the government’s spending.

“If there aren’t any reform measures associated with anything we do here, I’m not going to for it,” Braun said. “I’ve been clear that this has evolved over a couple of decades where we’ve been borrowing to do the things that we consume.”

Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer has told Republicans to “get out of the damn way” when it comes to voting for the debt ceiling increase. The measure needs 60 votes to advance in the Senate and right now every Republican has committed to voting against it.