The much-ballyhooed meeting between President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) came and went, and the situation remains much as it was before. Biden had invited Speaker McCarthy to the White House for a debt limit discussion on Tuesday, May 9 – the second such meeting since February 1. And just like the first time nearly a hundred days earlier, the president refused to entertain any spending cuts tied to an increase or pause in borrowing. Another meeting is on the docket for Friday, May 12, but will either side be more willing to compromise just three days later?
There Was Progress – Depending on Perspective
“Everybody in this meeting reiterated the positions they were at,” McCarthy told reporters. “I didn’t see any new movement.” During the meeting, the speaker held the line, insisting that an increase in the borrowing cap could be bought with spending cuts. The president maintained that Congress must unconditionally raise the ceiling – just as has been done throughout recent history, and just as it’s expected to always be done, whenever the party in power demands more money. But some progress was made, McCarthy explained. “Well, the progress we made is, we were actually able to meet, so that’s a difference,” he quipped.
Congressional Democrats and the Biden administration have been pushing for a debt limit increase or suspension all year, but they’ve been unwilling to discuss possible budget cuts to get it. The Limit, Save, Grow Act passed by the House in April would increase the debt limit either by $1.5 trillion or until March 31, 2024, whichever comes first. But it means some spending cuts, so of course, it’s a non-starter in the Democrat-controlled Senate or the White House.
(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
It’s a “clean” debt limit bill or nothing – and somehow, that refusal to accept any other deal means it will be the GOP’s fault if America defaults on the national debt for lack of available credit. Like much left-wing “logic,” it makes more sense the less you think about it.
Debt Limit Doomsday Clock
According to Speaker McCarthy, the next step in the process is staff-level meetings throughout the rest of the week ahead of Friday’s follow-up sit-down. That might foretell a more fruitful discussion, but there’s no guarantee that staffers from each side won’t simply spend the week talking about how unreasonable the others are being and how right they are to hold firm in their own positions.
It seems quite likely that President Biden’s only real goal in holding these sessions is to apply the pressure of the public eye and the weight of his own office upon GOP leadership in hopes Republicans will cave and pass the so-called clean bill he wants.
Each day America crawls closer to the dreaded default economic experts claim is coming vaguely soon – regardless of how many high-level staring contests do or don’t take place at the White House. And it’s entirely up to McCarthy and Biden. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) made it clear the upper chamber isn’t getting involved until they work it out. “There is no sentiment in the Senate, certainly not 60 votes, for a clean debt ceiling,” he said. “So, there must be an agreement. And the sooner the president and the speaker can reach an agreement, the sooner we can solve the problem.” But who will blink first?
