House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has notched several political and policy wins since accepting the gavel after a historically chaotic vote.
But with some of those accomplishments achieved in part because of President Joe Biden‘s own missteps, the debt ceiling fight is poised to present McCarthy’s greatest test so far.
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McCarthy is “doing a great job under difficult circumstances,” according to Republican strategist John Feehery. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) left the chamber “as an institution in a complete mess” and worked “overtime to fix the process and build trust with the minority while keeping the majority working together,” Feehery, press secretary for onetime House Speaker Dennis Hastert, said.
“Pelosi really damaged the House, and McCarthy’s first job was not on the legislative front but on the psychological front of getting members to just be able to stand each other,” Feehery, partner of lobbying firm EFB Advocacy, told the Washington Examiner, adding, “The legislative victories are nice and helped to give him some additional credibility with his majority, but his real legacy will be fixing Pelosi’s mess.”
The Republican National Committee also praised McCarthy, contending the GOP-led House “is fighting to lower costs, support our police, secure our border, and put a check on Joe Biden’s failed record.”
“After years of Democrat failure, Republican leadership is showing up and delivering for the American people,” RNC spokeswoman Emma Vaughn said.
McCarthy’s wins include Thursday’s bipartisan vote for HR 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act. Supplementing other bipartisan action, such as establishing the House select committee on China, he has successfully created tensions between Biden and House Democrats over the White House’s stance on a Washington, D.C., crime bill and the COVID-19 pandemic’s emergency status, among other developments.
Simultaneously, Biden and McCarthy’s debt ceiling standoff before the country potentially defaults on its loans this summer has worsened. The pair’s positions appeared to harden this week after the speaker asked the president to “have your team reach out to mine by the end of the week to set a date for our next meeting.” They last sat down in February after the Treasury started using special accounting measures to continue paying down the country’s debts. The Treasury maximized its $31.4 trillion borrowing authority a month earlier.
In a letter, McCarthy suggested the federal government reduce nondefense spending to fiscal 2022 levels, restrict future annual increases, reclaim unused allocated COVID-19 funds, and reform entitlement program work requirements for those without dependents who can be employed.
“Thank you for your letter of March 28, 2023, following up on our last meeting to discuss the obligation of the Congress to keep our nation from defaulting on its debts,” Biden replied. “This has been done by previous Congresses with no conditions attached and this Congress should act quickly to do so now.”
McCarthy then sought to underscore his overtures to Biden regarding the debt ceiling given Congress’s approval ratings decreased more than those of then-President Barack Obama amid the 2011 debt fight when the country’s S&P Global Rating was downgraded from AAA (outstanding) to AA+ (excellent).
“I don’t know what more I can do,” McCarthy told reporters on Capitol Hill on Thursday. “I would bring lunch to the White House. I would make it soft food if that’s what he wants. It doesn’t matter. Whatever it takes to meet.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded sharply hours later during her own briefing: “I think the president is able to pick out his own Starbucks.”
The White House, too, criticized McCarthy by name in a memo to reporters Wednesday night. In the document, deputy press secretary Andrew Bates emphasized how McCarthy told CBS in January, “Our very first responsibility we both should have [is] to pass a budget … so the country can see the direction we’re going.”
“On the debt limit, President Biden is clear that the full faith and credit of the United States is non-negotiable,” Bates wrote. “We are glad to see that Speaker McCarthy agrees with us that the debt limit is a separate issue from the budget and we hope that means he will move promptly to remove the threat of default.
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“As a separate matter, and as you heard directly from the president, he welcomes a conversation about our visions for the budget,” the spokesman added. “The American people deserve to know what their leaders value. … That requires seeing a full budget proposal from House Republicans, including revenue and spending.”
Biden published his budget last month, missing the constitutional deadline of the first Monday in February, as have many of his predecessors. Although the House Freedom Caucus and the more centrist Republican Study Committee have offered budget guidelines, House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX) conceded this week his panel would miss its statutory deadline of April as well. Yet in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the lawmaker indicated the House GOP budget would likely address the country’s deficits but not problems with Social Security and Medicare.
