Biden under fire for leaving town as debt ceiling deadline approaches.

President Biden’s Travel Plans Amid Debt Ceiling Talks

President Joe Biden is once again out of town as debt ceiling talks enter their final days. Despite criticism for his high number of vacation days, the White House defends Biden’s travel plans, stating that he will be wherever he needs to be to secure a reasonable, bipartisan deal to prevent the economic catastrophe that Republicans are threatening.

“He’ll do that wherever he needs to be.”

However, Biden’s physical absence from Washington and his low-key approach to the debt ceiling when in town have been worrying Democrats, who fear that Republicans are winning the messaging battle. Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Steven Horsford (D-NV) told Politico last week that they need to use the power of the presidency and that public silence does not help the negotiation.

Winning the Blame Game

Leaders from both political parties have alternated between pointing fingers at each other and promising a debt limit deal will get done, which could signal that winning the blame game is important to them. On that measure as well, the GOP may have a narrow lead. Some 47% of respondents in a Fox News poll believe Biden would be more at fault if debt limit negotiation failures devolve into default, while 44% pointed the finger at Republicans, with 8% saying both would be to blame.

Lawmakers Heading Home for Memorial Day

Biden is far from the only prominent Washingtonian to skip town this weekend. With Memorial Day set for Monday, lawmakers are heading home with an expectation that they’ll be called back in early next week. However, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy made it known he won’t be going anywhere, stating that he will continue the fight to curb inflation, stop reckless spending, make our economy stronger, and end our dependence on China.

As the debt ceiling “X-date” approaches, the Biden administration has been calling the problem a crisis for weeks. Aside from the president himself, Jean-Pierre frequently shares the administration’s stance on the debt limit with the media, and deputy press secretary Andrew Bates sent out email blasts attacking Republicans for wanting to “trigger a recession and kill 8 million jobs if they can’t get their way.”

It remains to be seen whether a deal will be reached before the debt ceiling is reached, but one thing is for sure: the stakes are high, and the outcome will have a significant impact on the American people.