US President Joe Biden said over the weekend that he would not agree on a bipartisan deal with congressional Republicans on the debt ceiling package solely on the terms of Republicans. This comes as House Republicans have demanded cuts in federal spending in exchange for raising the debt limit.
On Sunday, Biden told reporters during a news conference in Hiroshima, Japan, that he plans to speak with Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy upon returning to Washington. However, Biden stressed that the United States going into default would have major repercussions and was not an option. Biden also said he believes he has the authority to invoke the 14th Amendment in the US Constitution to raise the debt ceiling without congressional action, but it remains to be seen whether such action could take effect in time to prevent a default.
“It’s time for Republicans to accept that there is no bipartisan deal to be made solely on their terms. They have to move as well,” said Biden.
A White House official said Biden sought to contact McCarthy following an update by the negotiating team on the status of the talks that ended on Friday last week without any progress. Biden also said he believed that he could still reach a deal with congressional Republicans but could not guarantee that the GO would force a default by “doing something outrageous.”
Congressional Republicans have sought spending cuts to federal programs in exchange for raising the debt ceiling. However, Biden’s fellow Democrats have since urged the US leader to invoke the 14th Amendment to unilaterally raise the debt ceiling. The Treasury has also warned that the federal government may run out of funds to pay all its debts by June 1.
The White House has repeatedly reiterated its proposals to congressional Republicans as part of the negotiations. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement Friday last week that the GOP’s proposal to raise the debt ceiling was “a big step back and contained a set of extreme partisan demands that could never pass both Houses of Congress,” citing the Democratic-controlled Senate.
“It is only a Republican leadership beholden to its MAGA wing – not the President or Democratic leadership – who are threatening to put our nation into default for the first time in our history unless extreme partisan demands are met,” said Jean-Pierre.
Photo: Cameron Smith (White House)/Wikimedia Commons(CC by 2.0)