House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) warned Republican lawmakers that his team is “nowhere near a deal” with the White House on the debt ceiling, ramping up pressure on President Joe Biden just nine days before the default deadline.
In a closed-door meeting with GOP lawmakers on Tuesday, McCarthy told members a compromise on the debt ceiling was still far off, reiterating his position that he would not increase spending or raise the debt ceiling without conditions. Republicans emerged from the meeting wary of negotiators’ progress, telling reporters the talks are not going well so far.
WHO’S IN, WHO’S OUT, AND WHO’S STILL WAITING TO ANNOUNCE FOR SENATE IN 2024
“We’re now at a moment where we need to close a deal before we get to brinkmanship and getting close to the X-date. We need a sense of urgency,” said Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC). “The White House needs to come to terms with the fact they can’t spend more next year than they’re spending this year.”
As part of the negotiations, the White House proposed late last week to limit next year’s spending to 2023 levels — an idea that was rejected by Republicans, who wish to return to 2022 levels. McHenry and Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA), the top negotiators for McCarthy, emphasized that stance on Tuesday by calling on the White House to agree to cut spending.
“The math is the math,” McHenry said. “Everybody’s trying to figure out some way to shimmy this thing around. It’s fundamental: You’re spending less money next year than you’re spending this year. Everything else can come into zone, but if you don’t get the spending question right, then that is fundamentally at odds with what House Republicans passed.”
Meanwhile, some Republicans remain skeptical of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s warnings that the country could default on its payments as soon as June 1, calling that date a manufactured deadline set by the Biden administration to accelerate a deal.
“Janet Yellen couldn’t see inflation coming like an oncoming train,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL). “But she wanders out of some backroom in the White House with a Ouija board under her arm telling us the first of the month is the number. And we’re supposed to take that as some sort of article of faith.”
Gaetz argued the United States is not at risk of missing its payments, noting the country has strong revenue that will continue coming in over the next few weeks. Instead, the Florida Republican said Yellen should appear before Congress to present “receipts and deposits” that prove the country is on track to default.
“She should come to Congress and prove that,” Gaetz said. “I think she should come voluntarily. We shouldn’t have to execute a subpoena to get someone to come and show more of their work than your typical eighth grader with their algebra homework.”
Some Republican leaders echoed those sentiments, arguing that Yellen could be poised to delay the X-date deadline past her initial prediction of June 1.
“Janet Yellen herself actually left the door open,” said House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN). “[She] implied that it’s June 1 or later, giving some openness to the idea that June 1 may not be the so-called ‘X-date.’ We haven’t really been able to see a lot of transparency, but it looks like they’re hedging now and opening up the door to move that date back.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
McCarthy’s warning comes after the speaker met with Biden on Monday evening, marking the third meeting the two have held since restarting negotiations earlier this month. McCarthy called the meeting “productive” but noted the two are still far apart on finalizing a deal.
Negotiators from both Biden’s and McCarthy’s offices are set to meet again on Tuesday at 11 a.m.