White House stresses hiking debt limit in bipartisan way after McCarthy meeting
W. James Antle III
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The White House touted President Joe Biden’s willingness to “continue working across the aisle in good faith” after meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in what Biden’s team characterized as “a frank and straightforward dialogue.”
Biden and McCarthy met primarily to discuss raising the debt ceiling, which expired after Republicans took control of the House in last year’s midterm elections.
“President Biden made clear that, as every other leader in both parties in Congress has affirmed, it is their shared duty not to allow an unprecedented and economically catastrophic default,” the White House said. “The United States Constitution is explicit about this obligation, and the American people expect Congress to meet it in the same way all of his predecessors have. It is not negotiable or conditional.”
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Biden and his deputies have been adamant that the federal debt limit should be extended by Congress without any negotiations. McCarthy, who spoke of “common ground” when talking to reporters at the White House, has hailed the meeting itself as a positive sign.
“I would feel better if I was the markets based upon the meeting I had today,” McCarthy said later.
Congressional Republicans would like to see changes made to the federal spending patterns that have exhausted the $31.4 trillion debt limit before they vote for an extension. Biden would prefer a clean debt ceiling hike and warns that doing otherwise risks a default.
“The President welcomes a separate discussion with congressional leaders about how to reduce the deficit and control the national debt while continuing to grow the economy,” the White House readout of the Biden-McCarthy meeting said. “This conversation should build on the President’s leadership in delivering a record $1.7 trillion in deficit reduction in his first two years in office.
Before last year’s elections, Biden predicted House Republicans would use the debt ceiling increase to force cuts to Social Security and Medicare. McCarthy has denied this.
The White House additionally credited Biden with “passing historic bipartisan laws during his first two years in office.” Biden also passed two large spending bills through the partisan reconciliation process, a fact Republicans connected to inflation at a 41-year high.
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As vice president, Biden took a lead role in negotiations between congressional Republicans and the Obama administration that resulted in spending cuts but also a credit downgrade as the debt ceiling hike was delayed.
“In 2011, the Obama-Biden administration negotiated in good faith, but congressional Republicans’ recklessness caused a historic blow to our economy,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Tuesday.