Pence: ‘Unconscionable’ for Biden not to meet with McCarthy for debt ceiling talks

Former Vice President Mike Pence blasted President Biden over the lapsed debt ceiling talks on Monday, saying it was “unconscionable” that the president will not meet with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to negotiate.

“We have an obligation to uphold the full faith and credit of American currency. The Constitution requires that. But the fact that Joe Biden has gone 80 days and refused to even have a conversation with Speaker McCarthy is unconscionable,” Pence told NewsNation’s Leland Vittert on Monday night on “The Hill.”

“It was about a decade ago, when [Biden] was vice president when he boasted about how closely he worked with House Republicans to negotiate an agreement,” Pence added. “Now he’s sitting behind the desk in the Oval Office and saying ‘I won’t even talk about it.'”

Democrats and Republicans have been in a standstill as a looming deadline approaches to raise the debt ceiling. If the U.S. fails to raise the debt ceiling, the country could risk default by June.

McCarthy introduced a budget plan to his Republican colleagues last week that would raise the debt ceiling by over $1 trillion but also return federal spending to 2022 levels and cap growth at 1 percent annually. The Speaker and Biden met in February to discuss the debt ceiling, but have not had a meeting since.

Pence added that he hopes that Republicans “rally” around McCarthy’s call to fiscal responsibility, which he hopes will result in Democrats and Biden coming “to the table” to negotiate.

While some centrist Democrats have pushed Biden to negotiate with McCarthy, the vast majority of Democrats have refused accept Republican budget cuts in exchange for keeping the country solvent. Under former President Trump, Republicans supported three debt ceiling increases without cutting the debt.