House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) called his Monday meeting with President Joe Biden "productive" but reiterated that Republicans would not consider raising taxes as part of any debt ceiling agreement.
McCarthy spoke with reporters at the White House shortly after the meeting concluded and claimed that, unlike Biden, he believes the problem is "spending," not "revenue."
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"No," the speaker responded when asked if he was "willing" to talk about raising revenue, as Biden had asked.
"You're bringing in more money at a higher percentage than at any other time now, so why are we in such a problem? The expenditures, the amount of money government spends," he said.
Later in his Q&A session, McCarthy reiterated two other specific red lines: not passing a "clean debt ceiling bill" and not capping spending for defense.
"The president was just at G7, talking about the fear and the challenge of what China's doing. We watch what's happening in Ukraine; we've watched the amount of weaponry we had to provide Ukraine," he stated. "We don't want to put America in a threatening position. So, no, defense should not be on the table."
McCarthy did note that Biden's team of negotiators was acting professionally and seeking to reach a bipartisan agreement.
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"I think the tone tonight was better than any other time we've had discussions," he stated. " I felt it was productive because look, we both know — we've walked through this for a long time — where our differences are, we're explaining them, we're giving a give and take what we think would be best for moving the country forward. We still will have some philosophical differences, but I felt it was productive in that manner."
"I will say that the individuals the president asked to negotiate are the most professional I've ever seen," McCarthy said. "They're intelligent, they're professional, they're respectful, and I think that has been productive."