CNN host challenges Florida Rep. Yoho on debt ceiling: 'Are you paying attention at all?'

Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL) doubled down on his opposition to raising the federal debt limit in an interview with CNN host Jake Tapper on Tuesday, arguing that it would benefit the country in the long run.

"If we take this head-on, my feeling is our creditors, they'll be thankful that we're finally saying, 'You know what? Instead of kicking the can down the road, instead of having this debate, instead of raising our debt limit to $23 trillion, [as is] predicted in the next four years, let's deal with this now, let's get it under control and that would bring stability so that we don't go through this every year or every year and a half," Yoho told Tapper. "Let's put an end to it. Let's get to regular order."

"Sir, are you paying attention at all to what's been going on with Treasury bills?" Tapper asked. "I think there is concern out there. It's a tepid market right now. Every Thursday, about $100 billion rolls over, and there is concern that it's not gonna roll over. Maybe some of those creditors are gonna say, 'You know what? This is not a good investment anymore. This is not a stable economy anymore.'"

Tapper also suggested to Yoho that retirees might be concerned about their "nest eggs" continuing to shrink as the country grows closer to the Oct. 17 deadline for being able to account for its debt and potentially going into default.

"Hitting the debt ceiling is not the issue," Yoho responded. "Hitting the debt ceiling, or not raising it, is not gonna trigger an automatic default. We've got coming in."

"Not a default on our creditors, sir, but there will be a lot of bills that will not be allowed to be paid," Tapper interjected. "And it will send a horrendous message, I think every reputable economist says, to stock markets and to the fact that people's retirement savings [are] under risk."

Yoho also argued that, based on past instances, the U.S. would be able to hit its debt limit and survive.

"A lot of this is media hype," Yoho told Tapper.

Watch Tapper's interview with Yoho, aired on Tuesday, below.