“It was about a decade ago, when [Biden] was vice president when he boasted about how closely he worked with House Republicans to negotiate an agreement,” he added.
White House and House Republicans in Deadlock Over Debt Ceiling
The Democrats and House Republicans have been deadlocked in a dispute on whether to raise the debt ceiling, as the looming deadline approaches.If Congress and the White House fail to raise the debt ceiling, the U.S. government could risk default by June, which would shake the global economy.
While some moderate Democrat legislators have pushed Biden to negotiate with McCarthy, the rest have refused to accept Republican budget cuts in exchange for preventing a default.
He said that the president insists that talks over raising the U.S. debt limit be kept separate from talks over federal spending.
However, McCarthy announced legislative framework last week that would raise the debt limit for a year.
His budget plan will raise the debt ceiling by over $1 trillion, but also return federal spending to 2022 levels, while capping growth annually at 1 percent annually.
McCarthy Puts Pressure on Democrats to Accept Budget Proposal
McCarthy and Biden last met in February to discuss the debt ceiling, but have not held a meeting since.They agreed to resume talks over the debt ceiling after they each offered their budget proposals.
“I’m ready to meet with the speaker anytime—tomorrow, if he has his budget,” Biden promised.
“Lay it down. Tell me what you want to do. I’ll show you what I want to do. See what we can agree on.”
House Republicans have a slim majority, making their hold tenuous, which the Biden administration is counting on.
If McCarthy can keep his caucus in line, it could put pressure on the Democrat-controlled Senate and the White House to agree to more of his terms regarding the debt.
Pence said he hopes that Republicans will “rally” around McCarthy’s call to fiscal responsibility, in the expectation that the Democrats and Biden will come “to the table” to negotiate in good faith.
