President Joe Biden on Monday finally requested that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) negotiate the debt limit during a meeting to be held on May 9 to avoid default, a move that contradicted the White House’s previous official position.
While traveling in Israel, McCarthy received a call from Biden to schedule a meeting to negotiate raising the debt limit after days of stonewalling tactics, Punchbowl News reported.
“We are not negotiating on this,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday. “We’ve been very clear on this.”
On Wednesday, McCarthy and House Republicans passed a bill to raise the debt limit. Reports indicated the Biden administration was taken by surprise when McCarthy successfully passed the bill. McCarthy’s unpredicted victory apparently left the Biden administration flat-footed.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, April 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
“It’s not a plan,” Jean-Pierre said Monday about the House’s bill. “It’s a recipe for economic disaster.”
“They [House Republicans] need to do their job. Congress must act,” she said. “It is their constitutional duty.”
The White House’s stonewalling position remained consistent through Monday afternoon. About one hour after the White House press briefing, Biden called McCarthy.
As Biden and McCarthy prepare to negotiate, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-CA) has announced hearings on the House bill as a public relations attempt to condemn it. Schumer has refused to enact his own legislation or hold a vote on the House’s bill.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.
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