Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) blasted President Joe Biden on Twitter for his refusal to make any sort of compromise in the debt ceiling negotiations.
Amid the tense negotiations between McCarthy and Biden, the president and his team have repeatedly stated that the Republican-controlled House should just give in and allow them to raise the debt ceiling without any conditions. McCarthy, on the other hand, introduced the Limit, Save, Grow Act — which passed through the House on party lines. The GOP bill would lift the debt ceiling through early 2024 while at the same time saving the federal government an estimated $4.8 trillion over the next ten years.
The national debt is like a credit card. Year after year after year, Washington keeps hitting the limit, so they just keep expanding it.
Now, America's credit card debt is higher than what we make in an entire year.
Shouldn't we reevaluate how Washington is spending your money? pic.twitter.com/seRKXApYvg
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) May 19, 2023
While Biden had been saying that he wouldn’t even negotiate with McCarthy on the issue, he appeared to have a change of heart after the Limit, Save, Grow Act passed — finally showing up to the negotiation table. However, he still appears to be refusing to make any compromises on the matter, according to McCarthy.
With Biden and the Democrats refusing to sign on to the common-sense legislation, McCarthy called the president out on Twitter — arguing that it appears Biden would prefer that the United States default on its debt for the first time in history rather than agree to cut federal spending.
“President Biden doesn’t think there is a single dollar of savings to be found in the federal government’s budget,” the House Speaker tweeted on Saturday evening. “He’d rather be the first president in history to default on the debt than to risk upsetting the radical socialists who are calling the shots for Democrats right now.”
President Biden doesn’t think there is a single dollar of savings to be found in the federal government’s budget.
He’d rather be the first president in history to default on the debt than to risk upsetting the radical socialists who are calling the shots for Democrats right now.
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) May 21, 2023
While the negotiations have been going on for almost two weeks, McCarthy says that the White House is “moving backward in negotiations.”
“The White House is moving backward in negotiations. Unfortunately, the socialist wing of the Democrat Party appears to be in control—especially with President Biden out of the country,” he tweeted, referring to Biden’s trip to Hiroshima to attend the G-7 Summit, which he left for earlier this week.
The White House is moving backward in negotiations.
Unfortunately, the socialist wing of the Democrat Party appears to be in control—especially with President Biden out of the country.
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) May 20, 2023
Biden did end up cutting his trip short and is scheduled to arrive back in the U.S. on May 21. Negotiations will likely resume soon after he returns, especially because the U.S. will hit its debt limit as early as June 1, according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
This trip may cause additional problems for the president. According to Breitbart News, “Biden’s decision to take a foreign trip less than two weeks from a potential default may have harmed his reputation with the American public.”
This comes as a recent survey showed that 33% of Americans hold Biden responsible for the lack of an agreement on the debt ceiling, while only 27% of Americans blame House Republicans for the issue.
