Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) slammed the White House for its resistance to debt limit negotiations Tuesday.
The vulnerable Democrat, facing a tough fight if he decides to run for reelection in 2024, once again threw elbows to his left and criticized his party's leader. President Joe Biden is scheduled to meet with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and three other top members of Congress on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the pending fiscal disaster for the first time since February.
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"It's not rational, it’s not reasonable, and it’s not practical," Manchin said about Biden's resistance to working out a deal with McCarthy and Republicans.
The president and his allies in Congress have held a firm line that the only acceptable solution to the debt ceiling fight is a "clean" raise to the limit — one that is not contingent on any kind of future spending cuts.
McCarthy and House Republicans recently passed a bill that raises the ceiling by $1.5 trillion or until March 31, 2024, whichever comes first. But in exchange for the breathing room, the bill would pare back several spending programs, including Biden's signature student loan cancellation, and claw back billions in unspent COVID-19 funds.
In a White House press briefing before the meeting, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded to Manchin’s attacks on the administration, saying, “It’s not rational, it’s not reasonable, and it’s not practical for ... House Republicans to be ... threatening default.”
Manchin said despite party division over the debt ceiling in the past, negotiations have always taken place when control of Congress is divided.
“It's hypocritical to say that we're not going to do it now, and we've done it every time that there has been a split in the party,” Manchin said.
Biden and McCarthy will be joined by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in the Oval Office at 4 p.m.
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“Show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what you value. That’s what the president said,” Jean-Pierre said. “They showed their value by showing veterans, by cutting veterans programs, cutting school programs, cutting healthcare 22%. That’s what they value. That’s something they are going to have to answer to the American people about.”
Manchin has continued to break away from his party on the debt issue, insisting the United States needs to stop spending unnecessary sums and urging Biden to come to an agreement with Republicans.