Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) urged President Joe Biden to negotiate with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) over the debt ceiling.
Manchin joined a growing chorus of concerned lawmakers urging the president to negotiate with Republicans over the debt limit. The campaign for compromise comes after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced that the United States could default on its debts as early as June 1.
BIDEN ASKS MCCARTHY AND CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS TO ATTEND WHITE HOUSE MEETING ON DEBT LIMIT
In a statement, Manchin expressed optimism over Biden’s invitation to congressional leaders to attend a May ninth White House meeting for debt negotiations. Manchin urged Biden to be sincere in his negotiations.
“I hope President Biden’s invitation to Congressional leaders is sincere and he is genuinely willing to negotiate because the country cannot afford a failed negotiation,” Manchin said.
“Every day without action brings the American government closer to default and the American people closer to economic chaos. I urge President Biden to show true leadership and finally put politics aside and the well-being of our nation first,” he added.
The White House announced the invitation in a statement on Monday.
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“This afternoon, President Biden called Speaker McCarthy, who is leading a CODEL in Israel, to invite him to a meeting at the White House on May 9 with [House Minority] Leader [Hakeem] Jeffries, [Senate Majority] Leader [Chuck] Schumer, and [Senate Minority] Leader [Mitch] McConnell, who the President also called today,” the White House said in a statement.
“President Biden will stress that Congress must take action to avoid default without conditions and invited the four leaders to the White House to discuss the urgency of preventing default, as well as how to initiate a separate process to address the budget and fiscal year 2024 appropriations,” a White House official told the Washington Examiner.
