In an interview released by ABC News Monday, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said that he had no reason to doubt Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's warning that the U.S would start defaulting on its obligations if the debt limit was not raised by Aug. 2.
"Secretary Geithner feels August 2 is his deadline," Cantor told ABC News Jonathan Karl. "I don't question the Secretary of the Treasury other than to say we're trying to get in place real spending reductions -- trillions of dollars of spending reductions -- if the president wants us to increase the credit limit of this country by trillions of dollars."
Cantor's message seemed to be at odds with newly elected tea party Republican congressmen who said they weren't convinced after meeting with Geithner.
"There were a lot of groans," Rep. Frank Guinta (R-NH) told The Hill.
"I think the urgency factor isn't the deadline, it's the perception of the market that you are running up to that deadline," Rep. Jon Runyan (R-NJ) said. "Is the market going to start to slip before that fact in anticipation, because that’s more of a soft-deadline, where’s that deadline?"
Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, also a tea party favorite, said Sunday that she didn't believe Geithner's warning.
"I don't believe Tim Geithner as he cries wolf for the fourth time now, telling us that there is a drop-dead date and crisis will ensue, and economic woes will befall us even greater than they already are if we don't increase the debt limit," she told Fox News' Chris Wallace.
