Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)

A number of House and Senate Republicans have vowed to threaten the full faith and credit of the United States by holding the debt ceiling hostage unless they get cuts to Medicare and Social Security benefits.

In an interview with a local paper, Alaskan Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski vocally disagreed with her colleagues on this issue:

Murkowski, at a News-Miner editorial board meeting on Jan. 9, said she doesnai??i??t think the debt limit should be used for political leverage. Since borrowing will be required to pay off debts the country has already incurred, she said it would reflect badly on the U.S. to leave its willingness to pay those bills in doubt. […] Murkowski said not all of her colleagues in the Senate will say it out loud, but she believes most agree that failing to raise the debt limit would harm perception of the country. ai???If you incur an obligation, you have a responsibility to pay for that,ai??? Murkowski said.

As we noted earlier this month, 17 currently-seated Republican Senators and 76 currently-seated Republican House members have voted for clean debt ceiling increases in the past.