Biden and McCarthy’s First Round Battle Over the Debt Ceiling: Who Has the Upper Hand?

Speaker Kevin McCarthy surprised everyone in Washington when he got the House (from which laws are made) to come together and pass a big proposal. This proposal was to add $1.5 trillion to the country’s debt limit, but also cut back on spending. Now it’s up for President Joe Biden to decide if this proposal is okay or not. Things look a bit complicated from here onwards though, so we will have to wait and see what happens.

There was an unexpected change this week for a very experienced politician, and it’s just the beginning of what promises to be a tough fight with Democrats over the summer to raise more money so we can avoid going into debt and having really bad consequences.

Thursday, Joe Biden didn’t directly respond to what was done by Kevin McCarthy. The White House said it will not be bargaining with Republicans over whether the country can pay its bills or not. Democrats opposed the tough spending cuts which were suggested by Republicans and President promised that he would veto the bill which was given by McCarthy.

Karine Jean-Pierre, who is the White house press secretary, said “We won’t do any negotiating here”.

The president wants to talk about how the government can spend money, but he will not address the question of whether or not the country should raise its debt limit. She said that the United States is a reliable nation and will never be known as someone who doesn’t pay their debts. However, she went on to say that some people in Congress are using this situation as an opportunity to put pressure on our economy by threatening not to pay off our loans.

As the deadline for action comes closer, it seems that President Biden’s refusal to negotiate with Republicans may not work out. The White House is getting ready to tell everyone how bad the Republicans’ “crazy” plans are and how they would hurt people, but they will eventually have to answer back to the House.

Experts are worried that if the government doesn’t pay its debts which add up to $31 trillion, it will cause economic trouble. This week’s reports show that our economy is only growing 1% a year and this could mean there may be a recession coming soon.

The Treasury Department is paying the country’s bills but will run out of money soon. Goldman Sachs says this could happen by the end of July. The House has said it finished its job for now in voting on raising the debt limit, and that President should get hold of a meeting to discuss further solutions.

McCarthy of California has proven his worth by getting legislation passed using the power of votes. This shows that his opinions and ideas are respected in Washington.

The Republicans proposed a bill with lots of their own ideas in it, which includes limits on how much money the government can use for important services that people rely on like food and medical care. But it also makes it harder for people to get this help from the government, especially those who need assistance the most. People are not happy about that and could end up protesting against it.

In the Senate, the Democrats are in charge and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer does not like a plan put forward by the House Republicans. He believes Americans will reject cuts to important things like education, law enforcement, helping veterans and border security that comes with the Republican bill. He may never even bring up the House bill for a vote in the Senate.

Joe Biden and his friends who have the same political views as him in Congress want to increase the debt limit without any extra terms or conditions, however this is different from how things used to be done before. When Donald Trump was president, Democrats made rules for themselves when increasing the debt limit and Republicans were more than happy to push the country on the brink of failure a decade ago if it meant stopping a Democratic president.

McCarthy achieved an important victory as he managed to bring Republican groups together, but the work isn’t over yet.

The Republicans voted for a plan with lots of things that the Freedom Caucus wanted – however, most people know this proposal won’t become reality and was only meant to be a starting point for discussion with Biden. It may be difficult for McCarthy to get people onboard with any kind of agreement they reach in the end.

Rep. Chip Roy from Texas said, “We think we have an answer that makes sense and now it’s President’s turn to do something.”

Previous leaders like John Boehner and Paul Ryan were forced to leave office early if they didn’t follow the demands of the hard-right people. The same thing might happen to Rep. McCarthy if he doesn’t go with right-wing policies.

Right now, the Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell isn’t interfering with the new Republican Speaker. He’s letting him try to bring everyone together and do something that others couldn’t — create a plan that both Democrats and Republicans agree on.

Senator John Thune from South Dakota, who is second in command of the Republicans, said it was an impressive thing for the House to have this agreement despite being divided. He called it “a job well done.”

Senator John Cornyn from Texas said that the House of Representatives passing a bill will make it much easier to reach agreement on the debt ceiling. However, Cornyn also stated that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell isn’t likely to get involved in helping to strike this agreement.

Congressman Kevin McCarthy, with the support of his ally Congressman French Hill from Arkansas, plans to pressure the White House into negotiations by showing them he has enough votes to raise the debt ceiling. This is meant to prove that he can make things happen in Washington D.C.