Gingrich: Debt Talks: 316-0

Speaker McCarthy and Sen. McConnell Lead the Way

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s announcement that the United States government could run out of money by early June starts the next phase of the debt ceiling dance. Thanks to Speaker McCarthy’s strategic leadership in the House and Sen. McConnell’s support, the Congressional Republicans are entering the negotiations with President Biden in a remarkably strong position.

The Score So Far

The score at this point is House Republicans 316 to President Joe Biden and Senator Chuck Schumer zero.

• The 316 is the number of pages in the Limit, Save, and Grow Act which House Republicans passed by 217-215 on April 26. That act cuts $4.8 trillion in spending and raises the debt ceiling so there will be no risk of default.
• The zero is the number of pages in bills proposed by President Biden and Senate Democrat leader Schumer. Since there is no Democrat bill to stop the United States from going into default, there has not been a vote in the Senate on a Schumer-Biden proposal.

In fact, as a sign that Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s strategy is beginning to pay off, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said “If you look at the House, what they accomplished was a surprise to everyone given the various factions. Their having achieved an outcome — it should be clear to the administration that the Senate is not a relevant player this time.”

Unprecedented Senate Republican Support

This is an unprecedented level of Senate Republican support for a House initiative. It is a further sign of the goodwill and team spirit Speaker McCarthy has developed with the Senate Republicans in general and Leader McConnell in particular.

Faced with a united Republican team President Biden reached out to Speaker McCarthy by phone while the Speaker was leading a bipartisan congressional delegation to Israel and suggested they meet on the debt ceiling.

Biden’s Demand for Unamended Debt Ceiling Increase

Biden’s demand for an unamended debt ceiling increase which would allow spending, borrowing and taxing to continue unchanged had been soundly rejected by the American people. As the Winston Group reported in a “Winning the Issues” brief, only 14 percent of voters favor a debt ceiling with no spending cuts. Even among Democrats only 21 percent favor the Biden position, while among independents that support drops to an eye-opening 13 percent. That’s a pretty narrow base on which to build a re-election campaign.

What’s Next?

If Republicans can build a disciplined message that they have already passed the bill to avoid a default, the business community will begin building pressure on President Biden to move to Speaker McCarthy’s position. The next few weeks are going to be fascinating.

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