Biden cuts short trip abroad but still faces debt ceiling problems at home
Naomi Lim
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President Joe Biden has scrapped his trip to Australia and Papua New Guinea after being criticized for heading abroad during a debt ceiling stand-off.
But tinkering with his travel plans does not counter projections the Treasury Department will run out of money to pay the country’s bills by June 1. Nor does it address liberal Democrats’ concerns Biden may concede too much to Republicans or contend with an emboldened House GOP conference that is seeking as many concessions as possible.
HOW THE SUPREME COURT COULD BE FORCED TO WADE INTO BIDEN DEBT CEILING FIGHT
Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) are hopeful they can broker a debt ceiling deal by the end of the week. But even if they can cobble together an agreement, McCarthy still needs to sell it to the narrow majority that elevated him to the speakership through a historic 15 ballots. McCarthy can also be forced to defend his speakership by only one lawmaker.
There are “definitely” Republicans who will not support “a watered-down” debt ceiling deal in comparison to the House GOP’s Limit, Save, Grow Act, “the question is how many,” according to one senior Republican aide.
“The looming X date is going to spook some members into voting for whatever’s in front of them, but the conservatives who are digging in their heels rightfully believe that Biden has had all year to join these discussions, but he chose to do it mere days from the deadline — and they’re not going to compromise on their principles just because Biden’s a procrastinator,” the source told the Washington Examiner. “The Republican majority in the House has been taking this seriously for months, so Democrats either need to show that they have the votes for their plan — what is their plan? — or they have to meet us where we already are.”
“Since the House passed its proposal to lower spending and raise the debt limit and Senate Republicans are standing behind it, if the White House doesn’t negotiate the proposal in good faith, that will risk a deal,” another Republican aide said.
But Republican strategist Cesar Conda was less pessimistic, saying, “When it comes to the debt ceiling negotiations, it is always darkest before the dawn.
“Biden has put two Republican ideas on the table — a discretionary spending cap and an expanded work requirement for welfare programs,” he said. “My sense is a six- or seven-year cap, instead of 10 years, would be acceptable to Republicans. If Biden can agree to permitting reform and maybe restoration of Title 42, there is a deal to be had. But if Biden insists on tax increases, the whole house of cards could tumble.”
McCarthy, for his part, has described the inclusion of work requirements and the exclusion of new taxes as “red lines” for a debt ceiling deal. Work requirements are a central demand of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), one House Republican who opposed McCarthy becoming speaker.
Biden and McCarthy agreed Tuesday after their third debt ceiling meeting since February and their second in a week to decrease the number of negotiators after complaints too many people were involved in the process. Presidential counselor Steve Ricchetti and White House Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young will represent Biden, while Rep. Garrett Graves (R-LA) will stand in for McCarthy.
“The president emphasized that while more work remains on a range of difficult issues, he’s optimistic that there is a path to a responsible, bipartisan budget agreement if both sides negotiate in good faith and recognize that neither side will get everything it wants,” the White House wrote in a statement. “The president directed staff to continue to meet daily on outstanding issues. He said that he would like to check in with leaders later this week by phone and meet with them upon his return from overseas.”
“What has changed in this meeting is the president changed the scope of who’s all negotiating,” McCarthy added to reporters after the hourlong sit-down. “The structure of how we negotiate has improved. So, it now gives you a better opportunity.”
A debt ceiling deal appears to be taking shape behind capping federal spending for the rest of Biden’s term, tapping unspent COVID-19 funding, introducing work requirements for forms of federal aid, and implementing permitting reforms to expedite energy projects. But the president being amenable to work requirements for SNAP, or food stamps, and TANF, cash assistance for needy families, has upset Democrats.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) called food stamp work requirements “despicable,” saying she cannot back a debt ceiling deal “that is only about hurting people.”
“I sure didn’t come to Washington to take vital assistance away from working people,” Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) said. “I cannot in good conscience support a debt ceiling proposal that pushes people into poverty.”
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Biden is poised to depart for Japan on Wednesday for the Group of Seven leaders meeting in Hiroshima before returning to the White House this weekend. He had been scheduled to head to Australia for a Quad summit before becoming the first president to stop in Papua New Guinea on the way home.
“All I know is we got 16 more days to go,” McCarthy told reporters earlier Tuesday. “I don’t think I would spend eight days somewhere out of the country.”