DeMint Wants War With Dems Over Debt Ceiling

Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., a leader of the conservative, tea-party-backed wing of the Republican Party says his GOP colleagues in Congress should stand firm to avoid an increase in the debt ceiling. He’s ready for a major fight with President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats, The Hill reports.

“I think we should resist that [raising the debt ceiling],” DeMint says in an interview with conservative magazine Human Events. “We need to have a showdown, at this point, that we're not going to increase our debt ceiling anymore. We are going to cut things necessary to stay within the current levels, which is over $14 trillion. So this needs to be a big showdown."

Congressional Republicans are in the midst of sorting out their views as to how they will deal with the issue.