Biden Gets Ruthless On Kevin McCarthy And The Debt Limit

Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 02:03 pm

President Biden fully understands what Speaker McCarthy is trying to do on the debt ceiling so the White House has had no contact with him since their meeting.

Punchbowl News reported:
Speaker Kevin McCarthy has had no – and we mean zero – direct contact with the White House on the debt limit since Feb. 1. McCarthy hasn’t spoken to President Joe Biden, new White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients or any other senior aide on the issue. He hasn’t heard from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen either. It’s been radio silence.

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Over the next few weeks, we expect McCarthy to ratchet up his rhetoric on the debt limit. He’s trying to jumpstart negotiations. We’ll see if this tactic works. The White House and senior Democratic lawmakers are pretty certain they can beat Republicans down and force them to pass a clean debt-limit hike.

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Biden made it clear in his Tuesday letter to McCarthy that he wasn’t going to negotiate anything on the debt limit, and he pressured McCarthy to show him his budget.

For his part, Speaker McCarthy isn’t going to have a budget resolution passed before the debt limit deadline, and he wants Biden to commit to spending cuts as part of any deal.

Democrats and the White House are correct. House Republicans are divided on the debt limit, and as the pressure mounts, they are likely to cave. Any negotiation on spending cuts before the debt limit is raised would open the door to future manufactured crises and hostage-taking.

Biden and the Democrats are being ruthless with McCarthy because the health of the US economy is on the line.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association