(CNSNews.com) - Two weeks ago, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy wrote a letter to President Biden, urging him to set a date for a second meeting to discuss the debt ceiling.
There's been no response from the Biden administration, nor is there expected to be.
The Biden people have made it clear they expect House Republicans to produce a "clean" bill raising the nation's debt limit (for bills already incurred) -- without the future spending reductions that Republicans say are necessary to stop "stubbornly high inflation brought on by reckless government spending."
On Monday, one House Republicans told "Mornings With Maria," "We are not going to default on the country's debts." In fact, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) said it twice:
"Yeah, it's -- it's deeply concerning to us, in the House, we desperately need leadership from White House," Johnson said:
"We don't get that, as you know. The president has effectively moved away from the negotiating table and suggested that he's not interested in doing that. It's a huge dereliction of duty, and the stakes are so high.
"So what Speaker McCarthy's has been trying to accomplish is a real negotiation. I think it's incumbent upon White House to do that if they care about economy, the stability of the dollar, the projection of strength abroad -- he needs -- the president desperately needs to come to the table.
"We are counting on that. We are not going to default on the country's debts. It's not going to happen. But we need to make an agreement on the budget going forward, and we have to control federal spending. That's what's causing inflation, as we all know."
Host Maria Bartiromo observed that Biden is unlikely to work on a debt ceiling compromise with Republicans. She asked Johnson about the prospects of passing a "clean debt ceiling" bill with "no strings attached."
"I don't know what final outcome is going to be; the devil's going to be in the details," Johnson said:
"But I can tell you, we are not going to default on the country's debt. Okay? But what we have to do -- what we have a responsibility to do, Maria, you know that, is to change the trajectory of spending going forward.
"We cannot continue on the path we're on now, with a $31.5-trillion debt, with all of the constraints that are upon us. The government cannot grow any further. We can't spend any more we have to change these habits.
"The White House's approach is exactly the opposite -- no surprise there. They want to continue to grow government and continue to spend more, tax more. That's not the solution. It defies basic economics."