House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) privately agreed that cuts to Medicare and Social Security are off the table when it comes to raising the debt ceiling, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) told reporters Wednesday.
Manchin and McCarthy held a private meeting Wednesday afternoon to discuss raising the debt ceiling, which needs to be done by June in order for the United States to avoid defaulting on its loans. The U.S. reached its debt limit last week at $31.4 trillion.
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Sources familiar with the meeting between the lawmakers claimed it went well but that no commitments had been made on either side, according to Business Insider.
The meeting comes ahead of a visit with President Joe Biden in which McCarthy is expected to demand spending cuts in exchange for a deal to raise the debt ceiling.
McCarthy previously denied reports that he was considering cutting from Social Security and Medicare — a decision multiple powerful Republicans who have urged McCarthy not to touch the programs find favorable.
“Under no circumstances should Republicans vote to cut a single penny from Medicare or Social Security,” former President Donald Trump said in a video last week. “Cut waste, fraud, and abuse everywhere that we can find it, and there is plenty — there’s plenty of it. But do not cut the benefits our seniors worked for and paid for their entire lives. Save Social Security; don’t destroy it.”
A decision to raise the debt ceiling must be passed by both chambers. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has urged McCarthy to take the lead on an agreement because the House is unlikely to agree with a Democratic-majority Senate.
“I can’t imagine any kind of debt ceiling measure that could pass the Senate that would also pass the House,” McConnell said, according to Forbes.
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If an agreement is not met by the June deadline, the U.S. will be unable to pay off its debts for the first time in its history. But experts warned that defaulting on its payments could cause catastrophic consequences, including forcing the U.S. into a recession.
