Lawmaker Warns US Default Risks Dollar’s Reserve Currency Status, Exploitation by China and Russia
The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee has warned that China and Russia would seek to exploit the chaos resulting from a U.S. default. He further cautioned that the U.S. dollar’s reserve currency status could be eroded if the U.S. defaults on its debt obligations. U.S. Lawmaker’s Debt Default Warning Congressman Jim Himes (D-CT), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, warned Sunday during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” about the risks of the U.S. defaulting on its debt obligations. The lawmaker was asked whether the current U.S. “debt crisis” is “a national security threat” and whether any world leaders have expressed concern to him about it. Avril Haines, Director of National Intelligence, informed the Senate last week that Russia and China would try to exploit the chaos resulting from a U.S. default to show that “We’re not capable of functioning as a democracy.” Himes replied, “It has not come up in the meetings that we had in Jordan