White House punts on why Biden won’t meet McCarthy on debt limit

The White House on Tuesday punted a question on why President Biden won’t set up another meeting with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) over raising the nation’s debt ceiling instead blaming Republicans for the stalemate.

“It’s the Speaker, McCarthy, and the MAGA wing of the Republican party that is doing this; we’re not doing this. They’re the ones who are saying they want to hold the American economy hostage,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said when asked if the president risks rattling financial markets if he doesn’t meet with the Speaker. 

Biden is “saying to House Republicans, you need to do your job, your constitutional duty, and avoid default,” she added.

McCarthy has bashed the president for not inviting him back for a meeting about the debt limit since they last met on Feb. 1. 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.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has criticized Biden for still not talking to McCarthy, and a growing number of Democrats have also called for Biden to invite McCarthy back to the White House. Other politicians have criticized the president, including former Vice President Mike Pence, who said it was “unconscionable” for Biden to not negotiate. 

When pressed on why Biden won’t sit down with McCarthy, Jean-Pierre replied, “Honestly, this is a question for Speaker McCarthy and the MAGA wing of the Republicans.”

“They are the ones who are holding the economy hostage, literally. That is what they’re doing, that is exactly what they’re doing. What we’re doing is calling them out and telling them to do their constitutional duty,” she added.

The White House earlier on Tuesday said that Biden would veto the House Republican proposal that pairs a debt limit increase with government spending cuts if it made it to his desk.

The legislation would cap government funding at fiscal 2022 levels and would also limit spending growth to 1 percent annually over the next decade with other proposals aimed at curbing spending the White House says is unsustainable.