Tipsheet

McCarthy Warns 'No New Movement' After Meeting With Biden on Debt Ceiling

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  May 09, 2023 9:30 PM

President Joe Biden met earlier on Tuesday with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and other congressional leaders to discuss raising the debt ceiling, after it had been 97 days since he and the speaker met. Following their meeting, McCarthy gave remarks to warn "everybody in this meeting reiterated the positions they were at" and he "didn't see any new movement." Later that evening he similarly mentioned "I didn't find progress in this meeting."

Throughout his remarks all during Tuesday, McCarthy reminded that they were able to move ahead in such a way because the House passed a plan late last month to raise the debt ceiling. "That's why we had a meeting today," he said immediately afterwards. 

Later that evening, McCarthy and Biden gave dueling press conferences. Despite having come from the same meeting, the message communicated seemed rather different between the two leaders. 

One common theme that was addressed referred to default. Despite doing very little other than spewing incendiary rhetoric against "MAGA Republicans" and their goals to cut spending, Biden seemed sure that they would be able to avoid default. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Biden's fellow Democrats have also gone that same route, though they're at least getting increasingly called out for it. 

While Biden in his Tuesday evening remarks said he was "pleased but not surprised" to hear Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) make clear that the country will not default, any attempts to suck up to McConnell will likely do no good. McConnell has been steadfast in supporting McCarthy.

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During his remarks, McCarthy communicated "I've done everything in my power to make sure we will not default," a point he stuck to when asked by the press. 

Again, House Republicans, through passing McCarthy's plan, are the only ones who have moved to take any such action. McCarthy reiterated this on Tuesday evening by telling reporters "we only met today because the House did the responsible thing," though he was also concerned "unfortunately in this room I heard nothing new." He would again stress such a point when he mentioned he's "really concerned about the time limit," and that they only met because the House actually passed something.

Where the leaders do clearly disagree is that McCarthy is more so vehemently opposed to a short-term debt ceiling lift. 

Perhaps the most stunning aspect of the Democrats' stubbornness on this, other than Biden not meeting sooner, is the numbers game. Spencer has highlighted various positions from top Democrats, including Schumer and then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). 

The Republican plan sends spending levels back to Fiscal Year 2022. It also rolls back COVID-19 spending, which seems only natural given that the president last month signed legislation ending the national emergency and the World Health Organization (WHO) last Friday also announced an end to the global public health emergency. 

Beyond those same numbers that Democrats once cheered but now claim are a "disaster," McCarthy went for common ground in that he expressed he "would have liked to find bipartisan agreement and done so together." Not only did he incorporate ideas from Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who has praised McCarthy and expressed frustration with the White House, he also used Biden's ideas that he had as a senator when it comes to work requirements. 

Where the difference in remarks was particularly noteworthy and rather interesting is as members of the press asked McCarthy about whether there were lies mentioned. Biden lamented cuts during his remarks, including how they could supposedly affect veterans, law enforcement, and teachers, which he said "leaves folks behind." One particular lie that McCarthy mentioned came up during the meeting was about Biden bringing up veterans cuts, which McCarthy referred to as "a lie" during the meeting and again as he explained it to the press. 

McCarthy made clear that he would not call the president a liar, though that didn't mean he didn't still have strong words for Democratic leaders towards the end of the press conference. "This is a political game they're trying to play instead of sitting down and trying to negotiate," he warned. And, when speaking to the tone and tenor of the meeting, he explained that while he wasn't angry in the meeting, he called it "frustrating" that "Biden is waiting this long."

The president during his remarks expressed a gross misunderstanding of what's actually in the plan, and claimed multiple times "I don't think they're sure they know what they're proposing," even asking the press for their input.

Biden's understanding of the severe nature of what's at hand was also called into question in that he claimed to be a "born optimist," which more so came off as him making excuses. The president also claims this is "single most important thing that's on the agenda," which may be hard to believe given that he waited so long to meet with McCarthy and other congressional leaders. Biden, unlike McCarthy, did not seem so definitive in that he is willing to cancel trips, as he doesn't see a need. 

Throughout his press conference, the president also implicitly and explicitly was throwing McCarthy under the bus, as he kept mentioning that three of the four members were "very measured and low key," though "occasionally there would be an assertion that was a little over the top from the speaker," as Biden put it. 

Later in the press conference, Biden even referred to how McCarthy didn't become speaker until after 15 rounds of voting, which was brought up in the context of the president mentioning "I don't know how much leeway Kevin McCarthy thinks he has."

Further, while McCarthy told reporters that the president did not raise the issue of using the 14th amendment during their meeting, he did so in other places. The president took a question during his remarks about whether he would move unilaterally to do so, something he noted "would have to be litigated" and expressed "I don't think it solves our problem for now."

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was also asked about the 14th amendment during her recent appearance earlier this week on ABC News' "This Week," though she avoided answering the question about whether or not it should be used. 

It wasn't merely on the debt ceiling that Biden's cluelessness came out. For a time he boasted about the budget he had proposed earlier on Tuesday, and even repeated false claims that he reduced the debt by $1.7 trillion, while also blaming former and potentially future President Donald Trump. 

The leaders will meet again on Friday, and their staff will be in communication in the meantime. This was mentioned by both the speaker and the president, though the latter fumbled out his words in making such a point.