Global Courant 2023-05-03 03:00:38
Senate Republicans said Tuesday they are following their guidance on the House of Representatives debt limit ahead of next week’s meeting between President Biden and the four top congressional leaders.
Biden on Monday invited Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries to the White House on May 9. It came just after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that the government will have to borrow money. as of June 1, again or not to meet its obligations.
Prior to that sit-down, Senate Republicans made it clear that it’s up to McCarthy and Biden to strike a deal.
“We have all been led to believe that this will be a conversation between the Speaker and the President of the United States,” Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., told reporters on Tuesday. He explained that it would be impractical for McConnell to lead negotiations when McCarthy’s chamber, where he presides over a slim majority, has a broader coalition of Republicans to bring to the table.
HOUSE GOES RIGHT BY TWO VOTES MCCARTHY’S DEBT CEILING BILL; FOUR REPUBLICANS VOTE AGAINST
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., speaks at a press conference following a luncheon with Senate Republicans at the U.S. Capitol on May 2, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“I think this is the right place to have the conversation right now,” Young said. “Otherwise you have the Senate Minority Leader trying to thread a needle and figure out how to get the support of Main Street Republicans and Freedom Caucus Republicans, and he’s in another room. It’s hard for me to see how that is a recipe for success.”
In addition to a narrower coalition of Republicans, McConnell’s influence is also limited by the GOP’s role as a minority party in the Senate.
SCHUMER REJECTS HOUSE DEBT CEILING LAW, PLAN HEARINGS TO ‘DISCOVER’ GOP’S ‘RECKLESS LAW’
Republicans in the House of Representatives last week narrowly passed a bill that raises the debt limit while enacting deep spending cuts that are expected to cut discretionary spending by about $150 billion from fiscal year 2023 to 2024.
But in the White House and Democratic-led Senate, Biden and Schumer have insisted they will not tie talks about spending cuts to raising the debt ceiling, pushing for a “clean” increase in the borrowing limit.
McConnell has put an end to speculation about what kind of role he intends to play in the seemingly fraught negotiations. He told reporters at his weekly press conference after the GOP luncheon, “There is no resolution in the Senate.”
President Biden arrives to comment on new actions to advance environmental justice at the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, April 21, 2023. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
While accepting Biden’s invitation to the May 9 meeting, McConnell said, “It should be clear to the administration that the Senate is not a relevant player this time around.”
His conference follows. Almost no GOP senators gave direct answers to questions about which specific austerity measures in the House bill they support.
REPUBLICANS HAVE THE HANDED DEMS IN DEBT CEILING NEGOTIATIONS, SAYS BUDGET EXPERT
“It’s going to be a negotiation between the White House and the speaker. And if they can come up with something, the Senate can step in. But until you can reach an agreement between those two sides, there’s no reason for the Senate to come in and muddy the waters,” Sen. Mike Rounds, RS.D., told Fox News Digital.
“We’re not going to muddy the waters by trying to tell them what to come up with. All we know is that we don’t want to pay off our debts.”
Senator Kevin Cramer, RN.D., told reporters when asked about his thoughts on the bill: “Whatever this thing looks like, if it’s something that Kevin McCarthy and Joe Biden eventually agree on, of course it’s going to be something be different from what they have It will probably have some of the right things.
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., speaks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on April 26, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
“I’m not stupid enough to think I’m going to get everything I want, as you know. So I just wish them the best, but right now the ball is in their court.”
Senator Lindsey Graham, RS.C., said he “doesn’t mind” all four congressional leaders going to the White House, but that “ultimately” Biden and McCarthy “have to sort it out.”
Sen. Thom Tillis, RS.C., said McConnell had a “secondary role” in the negotiations.
“The Republicans are in control of the House. They’re rightfully looking to McCarthy and Biden, and to some extent Schumer, to sort it out,” Tillis said.
Elizabeth Elkind is a political reporter for Fox News Digital.
