President Obama said at a White House meeting with House Republicans that it would be “calamitous” if they continue to refuse to raise the debt ceiling, which they did Tuesday night with a 318-to-97 vote. GOP leaders are pressuring the White House to agree to deep spending cuts, but Obama is not backing down, calling the rare across-the-aisle meeting to try to turn the Republicans. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a top GOP economic adviser, said Obama’s warnings sound like blackmail.
