The U.S. may "potentially" default on its debt "as early as June 1, if Congress does not raise or suspend the debt limit before that time," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a letter Monday to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

Alfredo Ortiz, president and chief executive officer of the nonpartisan Job Creators Network, says he's "honestly not surprised" by Yellen's letter, sent just days after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Republican-led Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023.

The legislation, which McCarthy introduced on April 19, would “limit federal spending, save taxpayer dollars,” and “grow the economy.” The legislation passed 217-215 in the House, but did not get a single vote from Democrats. Given Democrats’ control of the Senate, it is unlikely the bill will pass in its current form. 

"Putting this now on June 1st, I think, basically, is to kind of try to force the hand of the Republicans," Ortiz says. "But quite frankly, I mean, the Republicans, from my perspective, did what they had to do."

"They passed the bill. That I think showed a lot of fiscal responsibility and hard choices that we have to make, and still allowed for $1.5 trillion of the debt to be raised," he says. 

Ortiz joins today's episode of "The Daily Signal Podcast" to discuss the debt ceiling, President Joe Biden's upcoming meeting on the issue with top Republican and Democratic congressional leaders, and why he thinks the Environmental Protection Agency "is out of control." 

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