President Joe Biden has refused to negotiate on the debt limit. Now, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is calling him out for “playing with the financial markets of America.”
During a recent press conference, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated: “Like the President has said many times, raising the debt ceiling is not a negotiation; it is an obligation of this country and its leaders to avoid economic chaos. Congress has always done it, and the President expects them to do their duty once again. That is not negotiable.”
Jean-Pierre also responded to another question about the debt ceiling, stating that the Biden administration is “not going to be negotiating over the debt ceiling,” arguing that it should be addressed “without conditions.”
To be clear – by REFUSING to negotiate over the debt ceiling now, the @POTUS is purposefully guaranteeing a last minute showdown about Congress not blindly approving borrowing MORE money… all when our nation is almost $32 trillion in debt. #StopSpendingMoneyWeDontHave https://t.co/izpRobW7Kq
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) January 20, 2023
During a Tuesday appearance on Fox Business Network’s “Kudlow,” McCarthy called Biden out for refusing to say he will negotiate about raising the debt limit — arguing that if Senate Democrats want to raise the limit, they should pass a budget so the American people can know what the money is for.
“We have to negotiate over the debt,” the House Speaker said. “Our whole government is designed to have compromise. Republicans control the House. Democrats have a small majority in the Senate. And he’s the president. He is playing with the financial markets of America by saying he wouldn’t negotiate.”
“Does he not believe that there’s not one dollar that you can find to eliminate waste in government?” McCarthy asked. “They just passed a $1.7 trillion bill that two senators wrote who are no longer here at the end of the year. The Democrats have never passed a budget.”
Just a few weeks ago, Joe Biden signed a $1.7 trillion spending monstrosity.
And now the White House says it will NOT negotiate with Republicans over the debt ceiling.
They created the problem!
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) January 18, 2023
Host Larry Kudlow then questioned McCarthy about the Democrats’ claims that Republicans want to cut entitlement spending.
“And Mr. Speaker, the other thing is these little White House weanies, they’re saying you’re going to cut Social Security, you’re going to cut Medicare, and you’re going to default on the interest payments on the bonds,” the Fox News host said.
McCarthy immediately rebuked that false claim, continuing to condemn the Democrats and Biden for wanting to raise the debt ceiling while refusing to try to eliminate government waste.
“None of that is true,” he said. “And that’s the bad part here that, first, the administration said they won’t negotiate, and then they want to play politics.”
“Why are they so afraid to sit down to find where you can eliminate waste?” McCarthy asked. “I think every household, every business, every state can’t go into debt. They have to have a balanced budget, every city, and county. Why do they think they’re different?”
“This is why we’ve got in this mess, with the Democrats’ one-party control, increasing discretionary by 30%, the Senate didn’t even pass a budget or appropriation bills last time,” he added. “So, they never told even America where they would spend the money. Why don’t we say, before you raise the debt limit, actually pass a budget and tell us where you want money for if you just want to increase it? Wouldn’t that be responsible?”
