White House Adopts Adversarial Posture Toward McCarthy Ahead of Budget Cut Meeting

White House House Speaker was treated with hostility by officials Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) before his Wednesday meeting at President Joe Biden About the debt ceiling Possible spending cuts

They will meet following the debt ceiling, an arbitrarily set limit on the amount of debt. national debt Congress established it, exceeding its statutory limit. This prompted renewed calls among House Republicans Balance the budget. National Economic Council Director Brian Deese and Office of Management and Budget director Shalanda Youth stated in a memorandum Biden would like McCarthy to ask him if he will agree to prevent a default on national debt.

“As the President has said many times, the United States must never default on its financial obligations,” According to the memo. “Raising the debt ceiling is not a negotiation; it is an obligation of this country and its leaders to avoid economic chaos. Speaker McCarthy’s unwillingness to-date to taking the threat of default off the table makes him an outlier, including among current and former leaders of his own party.”

McCarthy repeated multiple times during a Sunday Interview CBS News stated that the federal government would never default on its obligations. The memo nevertheless cited statements from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) indicating his refusal to allow a debt default, as well as past statements from President Donald Trump and President Ronald Reagan in which they committed to preserve the nation’s high credit rating.

Biden will also be pressing McCarthy about when the Republicans will release their budget proposals. According to the memo, cuts would be made to Social Security/Medicare and other areas. “cuts to research, education, and public safety,” Even though McCarthy stressed that Medicare and Social Security would be maintained, McCarthy said during the CBS News interview. “off the table” In the negotiations. The memo was dated January 30, one day after the interview.

“On March 9, President Biden will release his budget. The budget will show how the President plans to invest in America, continue to lower costs for families, protect and strengthen Social Security and Medicare, and reduce the deficit with tables and numbers showing exactly how his economic and fiscal policies add up to achieve these goals,” The memo went on. “Speaker McCarthy has said that reducing the deficit is a top priority for him and his Caucus. So far, however, House Republicans have offered up detailed plans to increase the deficit with tax policies that would benefit the wealthiest Americans.”

Both Biden and McCarthy have refused to address Medicare and Social Security. Questions It is not clear whether significant spending cuts are possible. According to the Federal Budget Office, these two programs made up 46% of the federal budget in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2013, along with other health initiatives. Data The Treasury Department.

Social Security is long considered the third rail in American politics. The vast majority of Americans have indicated that they want their benefits to be maintained with no reductions. However, nearly half of those who are concerned about the continuation of funding for the program say so. Data Gallup. All federal spending should be reduced by 85% in order to balance the budget without cutting defense, veteran benefits and Medicare. Analysis The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.