(CNSNews.com)- Former Speaker of The House Newt Gingrich is calling the debt ceiling debate a “dead loser” for Republicans and claims "they’ll cave" when pressured.

Gingrich told MSNBC's Morning Joe program on Friday,  “They’ve got to find in the House a totally new strategy. Everybody’s now talking about, ‘Oh, here comes the debt ceiling.’ I think that’s frankly, a dead loser.”

“Because in the end, you know what’s going to happen, “ Gingrich continued, “ The whole national financial system is going to come in to Washington by television and say: ‘Oh my God, this will be a gigantic heart attack, the entire economy of the world will collapse. You guys can’t be responsible.’ And they’ll cave.”

President Barack Obama and House Republicans engaged in a showdown in 2011 over raising the debt ceiling.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has alerted Congress that the U.S. debt limit of $16.394 trillion was met on New Year’s Eve. To borrow beyond the $16.3 trillion it has already spent, Congress must pass legislation to lift the debt ceiling.

A showdown is expected between Republicans and Democrats on raising the debt and whether or not to pair any increase with spending cuts.