White House says GOP’s ‘extreme ideas’ tie McCarthy’s hands ahead of debt ceiling meeting
Haisten Willis
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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is “dealing with” a caucus that has “put forth some pretty extreme ideas” ahead of a meeting with President Joe Biden over the debt ceiling, the White House said Wednesday.
McCarthy and Biden are meeting this afternoon to discuss raising the debt limit, and while each has pledged to negotiate in good faith, they’ve also used some harsh language with each other.
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“The president did have some choice words for the speaker last night ahead of their meeting,” a reporter said to press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at the afternoon press briefing. “He says [McCarthy has] made off-the-wall commitments to the far Right. Is there any strategy in saying that ahead of this meeting?”
Jean-Pierre indicated she agrees with Biden’s comments.
“We understand what the speaker is going through,” she said. “He has a caucus that has put forth some pretty extreme ideas, some extreme options in front of the American people. Cutting Medicare, cutting Social Security. That is what he’s dealing with.”
Biden released a memo on Tuesday with administration talking points, asking if McCarthy would commit to not defaulting and when House Republicans would release a budget.
The debt ceiling reached its limit on Jan. 19, with House Republicans aiming to cut down on spending to address the situation.
“I want to find a reasonable and a responsible way that we can lift the debt ceiling, but take control of this runaway spending,” McCarthy said on CBS over the weekend. “If you look at the last four years, the Democrats have increased spending by 30%, $400 billion. We’re at 120% of GDP. We haven’t been in this place to debt since World War II, so we can’t continue down this path.”
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McCarthy assured that Medicare and Social Security would not experience any reductions from the House, saying they are both “off the table.”
“The president had meetings, as you know, with the democratic leadership just last week,” Jean-Pierre said. “He’s looking forward to having this conversation. You saw our memo yesterday asking the speaker and Republicans in Congress if they are going to live up to their constitutional obligation. Are they going to lift the debt ceiling?”
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