President Biden to Press House Speaker McCarthy for Spending Proposals Ahead of Crucial Budget Negotiations

President Joe Biden is set to meet with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) at the White House on Wednesday, and is expected to press the Republican leader for a detailed list of spending proposals.

In a memo circulated Tuesday, top White House advisers Brian Deese and Shalanda Young said Biden intends to ask McCarthy to “commit to the bedrock principle that the United States will never default,” and to lay out his specific plan for how to reduce the deficit if he wants to attach that to a debt ceiling extension.

The White House will release its own budget in early March, the advisers said, and they urged McCarthy to do the same. “It is essential that Speaker McCarthy likewise commit to releasing a budget, so that the American people can see how House Republicans plan to reduce the deficit,” Deese and Young wrote.

McCarthy responded to the memo on Twitter, saying: “Mr. President: I received your staff’s memo.” When asked about Biden’s demand for his assurances that the U.S. won’t default, McCarthy told reporters Tuesday: “It’s irresponsible.”

The meeting between Biden and McCarthy is expected to be a crucial moment in the ongoing negotiations over the federal budget and the debt ceiling. It is unclear whether the two leaders will be able to reach an agreement on how to reduce the deficit, or if they will be able to find common ground on other issues.