McCarthy slams Biden’s ‘seriousness’ during debt talks: ‘Seems like they want a default’
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Thursday that President Biden lacks “seriousness” in negotiating with Republicans about raising the federal debt ceiling, calling the matter another “ignored” priority by the president.
“It seems like they want a default more than they want a deal,” McCarthy, 58, told reporters at a Capitol Hill press conference.
The Republican House leader added that staff members from both Congress and the White House are engaged in talks but that Biden has not taken part since meeting with McCarthy, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for around an hour on Tuesday.
Following that meeting, the leaders had said another one would take place Friday, but that has been postponed.
“I don’t think there’s enough progress for the leaders to get back together,” McCarthy said. “I don’t know [if] having certain ones in the room, that it’s even productive.
“He ignored us now for 100 days,” the speaker said of the president. “He thought this problem would go away, like the border. We didn’t want to sit back, just like with the border, so we went to work and we raised the debt ceiling.”
After Tuesday’s meeting, Biden did not rule out taking the unprecedented step of raising the debt ceiling unilaterally through the 14th Amendment, which states that the “validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law … shall not be questioned.”
That move would be challenged in court, leaving the US economy in limbo.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said the federal government could default on its debt for the first time ever as soon as June 1 if Biden and Congress fail to act.
Former President Donald Trump weighed in on the issue Wednesday night during a CNN town hall in New Hampshire, telling Republicans they should let a default happen.
“I say to the Republicans out there — congressmen, senators — if they don’t give you massive cuts, you’re gonna have to do a default,” the 76-year-old said.
“I don’t believe they’re going to do a default because I think the Democrats will absolutely cave because you don’t want to have that happen,” Trump added. “But it’s better than what we’re doing right now because we’re spending money like drunken sailors.”
The Limit, Save, Grow Act passed by the House in late April would raise the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion or suspend it until March 31, 2024, whichever point is reached first. Republicans offered the measure in exchange for spending cuts to non-defense discretionary spending, which they have pledged will not come from Medicare, Social Security or veterans’ benefits.
