'A ticking time bomb': House Speaker Kevin McCarthy says House will vote on debt limit
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., vowed that he would not allow the country to default on its debt Monday, announcing the House will soon vote on a bill to raise the debt ceiling through 2023 as negotiations with the White House have stalled.
In remarks at the New York Stock Exchange, McCarthy said House Republicans will move to stave off a national debt in the “coming weeks” as the country rapidly approaches its debt ceiling deadline. Though McCarthy didn’t offer any specifics, he said the bill would raise the limit, curb inflation and cut spending without touching Social Security and Medicare.
McCarthy also went after President Joe Biden, casting blame onto the president for the stalled negotiations and criticizing the administration on spending.
“Without exaggeration, American debt is a ticking time bomb that will detonate unless we take serious, responsible action. Yet, how has President Biden reacted to this issue? He has done nothing,” McCarthy said.
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What did the White House say?
The White House accused McCarthy of “breaking” with the bipartisan position he held under former President Donald Trump by “engaging in dangerous economic hostage taking that threatens hard-working Americans’ jobs and retirement savings,” said Andrew Bates, deputy White House press secretary, in a statement after McCarthy’s remarks.
Bates also noted that in 2019, Trump said “I can’t imagine anybody ever even thinking of using the debt ceiling as a negotiation wedge” before accusing McCarthy of doing so.
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“This morning, Speaker McCarthy did just that. Meanwhile, he again failed to clearly outline what House Republicans are proposing and will vote on,” Bates said. “A speech isn’t a plan, but it did showcase House Republicans’ priorities.”
Biden had no public events scheduled to address McCarthy’s remarks after traveling to Ireland and the United Kingdom last week.
Debt ceiling negotiations stalled
The speaker had asked the president to restart negotiations on raising the country’s borrowing limit in a letter March 28 letter, noting he was “incredibly concerned” that Biden was putting an “already fragile economy in jeopardy.”
Biden responded that same day, telling McCarthy he was looking forward to meeting on the nation’s economic and fiscal future with the speaker but urged House Republicans to first release their proposed budget.
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The White House has stressed it will not negotiate the debt ceiling until the GOP releases its counterproposal to the administration’s budget plan, which was released in March.
“It’s time for Republicans to stop playing games, agree to a pass a clean debt ceiling bill, and quit threatening to wreak havoc on our economy. And if they want to have a conversation about our nation’s economic and fiscal future, it’s time for them to put out a Budget – as the President has done with his detailed plan to grow the economy, lower costs, and reduce the deficit by nearly $3 trillion," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
Republicans have yet to release their federal budget proposal and have not indicated when it could be made public.