Biden and McCarthy point fingers as debt ceiling catastrophe looms

President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are blaming each other for the current partisan stalemate as the deadline to raise America’s debt limit and avert an economic crisis nears.

The Democratic president and the Republican president had a call on Sunday as Biden returned to the US from the G7 Summit in Japan, according to McCarthy, who also said on Twitter that they will meet Monday to resume talks in person. The open dialogue between the leaders is a positive turn from the day before, when McCarthy said negotiations were “going backwards.”

The White House and the Republican-led House of Representatives have been deadlocked for weeks over negotiations to raise the US debt ceiling. Biden is seeking an increase in the amount of debt the US can take on to finance his party’s preferred programs, as well as military spending, which includes aid to Ukraine. McCarthy wants to see sweeping spending cuts across government in an effort to reduce the national deficit. If the Democrats and Republicans fail to reach a deal by the June 1 deadline, the US could default on its estimated $31.4 trillion in debt, meaning the government will not have the ability to ask for Borrow more money to pay the bills. It would be the first time in US history that the county defaulted on its debt, with dire consequences for the national and global economy.

While Republicans are calling for increased spending on the military, veteran care and border security, they are demanding sharp cuts in other programs. Biden said the GOP bill to prevent a default would result in 21 million people losing Medicaid, as well as laying off 100,000 teachers and 30,000 law enforcement officers.

news week he communicated via email with representatives for Biden and McCarthy.

After his Sunday call with Biden, McCarthy told reporters there was no deal, saying they are “still separate” on a deal. However, the Republican seemed more hopeful than he had before after the talks on Friday and Saturday.

“What I’m looking at is where our differences are and how we can resolve them, and I felt like that part was productive,” he told reporters as he left the Capitol on Sunday.

McCarthy also posted about his call with the president on his Twitter account Sunday afternoon.

“I just got off the phone with the president while he’s out of the country.” said the California Republican. “My position hasn’t changed. Washington can’t keep spending money we don’t have at the expense of children and grandchildren. Tomorrow he and I will meet in person to continue negotiations.”

Later on Sunday, McCarthy attacked Biden on Twitter, where the speaker shared a video of him questioning what it would take for the president to identify places where the government is wasting money, saying “every household does that, and we should too.” “. “

“I literally asked the president: What is the number?” McCarthy said. “How much debt must the United States have before you say ‘let’s stop borrowing from China’?”

Earlier on Sunday, Biden used his G7 news conference to criticize Republicans for their “extreme positions” as lawmakers work to reach a deal.

“Now is the time for the other side to move away from its extreme positions. Much of what they have already proposed is simply, frankly, unacceptable,” Biden told reporters. “So let me be clear. I’m not going to take a deal, for example, that $30 billion tax break for the oil industry, which made $200 billion last year. They don’t need an incentive of another $30 thousand millions”.

He also would not approve a deal that protects “wealthy tax mongers and cryptocurrency traders” while putting food assistance for nearly a million Americans at risk, Biden said, adding that Republicans must accept that a bipartisan deal cannot be made. based on “on your partisan terms only.”

Asked if anyone would blame him for the default, Biden said the GOP can use the catastrophe a default would cause to lessen his chances of winning re-election in 2024.

“I think there are some MAGA Republicans in the house who know the damage it would do to the economy, and because I am president and the president is responsible for everything, Biden will take the blame and that is the only way to guarantee that Biden is not re-elected”.

Biden also lashed out at Republican lawmakers on social media, echoing their calls for conservatives to back off their “extreme” ideas in a Twitter post Sunday night.

“Much of what Congressional Republicans have proposed during the budget negotiations is simply unacceptable,” Biden said on Twitter. “It is time for them to abandon their extreme position and act to prevent default.”

However, even though both parties are deadlocked, Biden said all four congressional leaders agree with him that “default is not an option.”

“America has never defaulted, has never defaulted on our debt, and never will,” Biden said.