Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) seems to think he is in charge, but his fear looks to grow as he falsely claims that President Biden wants a default.
CNN’s Manu Raju tweeted McCarthy’s Monday morning comments:
McCarthy says they are still “far apart.” He said: “Seems like they want a default more than a deal.”
McCarthy added they need a deal by “this weekend” in order “to have a timeline to be able to pass it in both houses.”— Manu Raju (@mkraju) May 15, 2023
Why is Kevin McCarthy demanding a deal by the weekend?
The House is only going to be in session from May 22-25, and then they go back on recess until June 5th. Kevin McCarthy wants to prevent a national default before he goes on vacation.
McCarthy’s characterization is the opposite of President Biden’s statement on Sunday, “I remain optimistic because I’m a congenital optimist. But I really think there’s a desire on their part, as well as ours, to reach an agreement, and I think we’ll be able to do it.”
It sounds like Biden wants a deal and McCarthy doesn’t.
Speaker McCarthy’s entire hand to play revolves around being able to convince the American people that Joe Biden doesn’t want a deal, but so far, that hasn’t been effective.
Kevin McCarthy is failing, and with each passing day, the pressure is growing on him to either pass a clean debt limit increase or take the blame for a default.
Despite his huffing and puffing, McCarthy is on the hot seat, as his efforts to shift the burden to Biden aren’t working.
For More Stories Like This, Subscribe To Our Newsletter:
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
