Biden Warns Republicans Not to Hold Nation’s Economy Hostage During Debt Limit Meeting

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden met with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in the Oval Office of the White House to discuss the debt limit. The meeting was held to address the looming deadline to increase the nation’s borrowing authority to avoid defaulting on the national debt.

At the meeting, Biden warned Republicans not to hold the nation’s economy hostage to their budget-cutting demands. He discussed the debt ceiling standoff at the beginning of the meeting.

The U.S. Treasury needs to increase its borrowing authority to meet all the government’s spending obligations, which include ordinary spending as well as servicing of the principal of and interest on the U.S. debt.

House Speaker McCarthy has insisted that a debt ceiling hike must be tied to budget cuts. However, Biden has argued that the debt ceiling should be increased without any strings attached.

The meeting between Biden and the congressional leaders is the latest in a series of discussions about the debt limit. It is unclear if the parties will be able to reach an agreement before the deadline. If an agreement is not reached, the U.S. could default on its debt, which could have serious economic consequences.