The White House insisted Monday that Congress has a “constitutional duty” to raise the debt ceiling.
President Joe Biden will meet Tuesday with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and other congressional leaders, but the administration is standing by its refusal to offer any concessions in exchange for increasing the federal borrowing limit.
WHITE HOUSE SAYS IT’S UP TO MCCARTHY TO RAISE DEBT CEILING AHEAD OF MEETING
“There shouldn’t be negotiations on the debt limit,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. “This is something that they should get to regular order and get to work on. We should not have House Republicans manufacturing a crisis on something that has been done 78 times since 1960.”
The House has passed the Limit, Save, Grow Act, which would raise the debt ceiling while also cutting $4.8 trillion in deficits over the next 10 years. However, the White House insisted it will only accept what it calls a “clean” debt ceiling hike, meaning one with no conditions attached.
Republicans have made rolling back government spending a major priority in the new Congress and are holding fast to their demands. The White House would rather separate budget and debt limit talks but has not said when those budget talks would commence.
“When would the president imagine that separate process beginning?” a reporter asked Jean-Pierre.
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“I don’t have a timeline for you,” she responded. “The president said he’s happy to have that conversation, happy to have that debate. Clearly, that will have to happen. I just don’t have a timeline for you.”
The Tuesday meeting will also include House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). The United States could default on its debts as soon as June 1, according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
