President Joe Biden announced that he would talk with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif) over the phone as he made his trip back to the U.S. from the G7 Summit in Japan.
Less than two weeks from the U.S. defaulting on its debt, Biden is blaming everyone but himself for the chaos and stress it would cause the already struggling economy.
"Biden received an update from his team both last night and this morning on the status of negotiations," a White House official said ahead of the phone call.
However, it is still being determined when or where the meeting will occur.
Before departing Hiroshima, Biden told reporters that he was "hoping Speaker McCarthy is just waiting to negotiate with me," suggesting that he would invoke the 14th Amendment to raise the debt ceiling if needed. However, experts warn this would not hold up in court.
On the contrary, McCarthy lashed out at Biden, saying that he was nothing but a puppet for Democrats who control things behind the scenes.
"President Biden doesn't think there is a single dollar of savings to be found in the federal government's budget," McCarthy wrote on Twitter. "He'd rather be the first president in history to default on the debt than to risk upsetting the radical socialists 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.
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) May 21, 2023
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.
The Republican insisted that the Dem-controlled White House is moving backward with negotiations, saying that Washington is sitting on $60 billion in unspent COVID funds, despite the pandemic being over.
McCarthy said his party is ready to give that money back to hard-working taxpayers, but unfortunately, Democrats are fighting to stop that from happening.
"I think the Bernie Sanders and the socialist wing of their party have had a real effect on the president, especially with him being out of the country," McCarthy added.
The White House is moving backward in negotiations.
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) May 20, 2023
Unfortunately, the socialist wing of the Democrat Party appears to be in control—especially with President Biden out of the country.
In response to McCarthy's remarks, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed the Speaker's team put "extreme partisan demands" on the table.
"Let's be clear: The President's team is ready to meet any time. And, let's be serious about what can pass in a bipartisan manner, get to the President's desk, and reduce the deficit," she said.
The debt ceiling, a statute established by Congress that prevents the government from spending beyond a predetermined national debt limit of $31.4 trillion, exceeded the threshold earlier this year. Both parties claim they have made progress with negotiations. However, neither has come to an agreement.
If the U.S. defaults, it would likely cause a recession posing a significant financial risk for the country.