On Tuesday, June 16, Joe Biden and Kevin McCarthy met again regarding the debt ceiling. With less and less time left on the clock, the two met to agree on a joint strategy to solve the problem before the June 1 deadline, when the U. S. would officially enter into default.
After an initial round of negotiations that was not very productive, in which the parties simply put their positions on the table, the second meeting seems to have been a little more fruitful. McCarthy answered questions from the press minutes after leaving the president and assured that "I think the process is better ... That gives us a structure to actually be more productive, but a short timeframe to get it done."
"So it now gives you a better opportunity, even though we only have a few days to get it done," celebrated the spokesman, who also regretted not attacking the problem sooner. "I wish we had done this in February," he added.
McCarthy later led a rally with Republican congressmen and senators, in which they all took aim at the Biden administration's poor decisions. "A debt ceiling is the equivalent of your child having a credit card. And for the last 21 years, this child has spent all the money up to the limit and all you have done is raise the debt ceiling," McCarthy said with his colleagues behind him.
"Now, the president and Leader Schumer have finally backed off their idea that they won’t negotiate," he added, an idea he further described as "insane" and "unrational [sic.]."
Mr. President: Stop hiding. Stop running away from the mess you made in Washington.
America needs a president who is focused on America's problems. pic.twitter.com/YX8DzlvciN
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) May 17, 2023
The Republicans' position
There is a sense in the GOP that the job is done. They passed their bill in the House and are waiting on the president to sit down and negotiate his position. Named the Limit, Save and Grow Act of 2023, the bill provides for an increase in the ceiling for one year, to be followed by a reduction in public spending.
Specifically, the bill would limit spending growth to 1% per year over the next decade, including reversing some Biden administration policies, such as canceling student loans and tightening work requirements for government assistance programs.
Following Tuesday's second meeting, McCarthy hailed the president's appointments of Louisa Terrell, Steve Ricchetti and OMB Director Shalanda Young as a positive for the negotiations. However, he acknowledged that the timeline to work with is "short."
In the Senate, the feeling is "something is going to happen." Mitch McConnell first lamented indicating that "This shouldn't be this hard," then acknowledged, "We know we're not going to default."
Something similar was outlined by Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), who will be leaving his seat to seek the governorship of Indiana. He described the situation as "the same old song and dance" and envisioned that "something will work out."
We had a productive meeting with congressional leaders yesterday.
I'm confident that we'll get to an agreement on the budget, and America will not default. Every leader in the room understands the consequences if we fail to pay our bills. pic.twitter.com/hw7RW7Aeu8
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 17, 2023
The Democrats' position
Prior to sitting down to negotiate, the president knew his objective perfectly well: a clean raise or nothing. With the Republican bill already in the Senate, and with June 1 looming ever closer, Biden had no choice but to meet with McCarthy to try to reach a middle ground.
Now, the White House is trying to appease progressives within the party, since one of the Republican conditions includes expanding work requirements for food safety programs, something that the most left-leaning Democrats do not want to see in the final deal.
In recent days, House Democrats have slipped a possible solution to the debt ceiling: a petition for discharge. This is the House of Representatives' means of moving a bill out of committee and to the floor of the House. For this to happen, a member must gather 218 signatures, which would allow the House to immediately consider and vote for the bill in question.
As reported by Reuters, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries intends to use this tactic to raise the U.S. debt limit if necessary.
"Given the impending June 1 deadline and urgency of the moment, it is important that all legislative options be pursued in the event that no agreement is reached," Jeffries commented after the second meeting.
