JUST IN: Americans divide closely on whom they'd blame if the federal government defaults on its debts, even as most align with the Biden administration's position on how Congress should handle the issue, according to new ABC News/WaPo poll.
That looks like a messaging snafu on President Joe Biden's part, since many more people take his side than the Republican position on the issue. Fifty-eight percent say debt payment and federal spending cuts should be handled separately, as Biden has argued. Far fewer, 26%, take the GOP view that Congress should let government pay its debts only if the administration agrees to spending cuts.
Support for Biden's position on the debt ceiling has lost 7 percentage points since February, dropping from 65% to 58% in this poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates. However, the share who favor linking the debt ceiling with spending cuts has not grown; instead, more now are undecided.
In ideological terms, 75% of liberals and 61% of moderates prefer keeping the issues separate -- as do 56% of people who describe themselves as somewhat conservative. This flips among those who are very conservative. In this group, just 36% favor separation, while 52% say the government should be allowed to pay its debt only if spending cuts are included.
Who'd actually take the blame in a default depends on the eventual circumstances. But as things stand, views are highly partisan. Among Republicans, 78% would mainly blame Biden. Among Democrats, 78% would mainly blame the Republicans in Congress. And independents divide three ways, but with a slight tilt in Biden's favor: Thirty-seven percent say they'd mainly blame the GOP; 29%, mainly Biden; and 24%, both equally.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testifies during a U.S. House Committee on Financial Services hearing on the Annual Report of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., May 12, 2022.This ABC News/Washington Post poll was conducted by landline and cellular telephone April 28 to May 3, 2023, in English and Spanish, among a random national sample of 1,006 adults. Partisan divisions are 26-25-41%, Democrats-Republicans-independents.
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