This sound like liberal blackmail. I say call their bluff.
No more dept ceiling increases, there has to be a limit.
Not blackmail. Reality of the country issuing the world’s reserve currency: if the USA can’t pay debts on time, we’ve all got a HUGE problem. AAA rating is for never-late borrowers; if the US is late, AAA rating is not warranted, and everything riding on it gets downgraded too.
This is not a game.