Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar (D-CA) said he doesn’t trust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) promise not to touch entitlement programs in his effort to pair raising the debt ceiling with cuts to government spending.
Aguilar said he wants to see House Republicans’ proposed budget cuts and touted his party’s own commitment to keeping Social Security fully funded. On Wednesday, McCarthy will meet with President Joe Biden to discuss the brewing fight over the borrowing limit.
BIDEN RELEASES DEBT CEILING MEMO WITH TWO QUESTIONS FOR MCCARTHY
He characterized the Republicans at a Tuesday press conference as “team extreme” for seeking to “threaten and cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid,” which prompted a question on McCarthy’s vow not to touch the social programs.
“Well, he said he had the votes to be speaker as well,” Aguilar replied. “And then we sat there for five days and continued to vote. So, I just don’t know what to believe these days.”
“If you want to protect Social Security and Medicare, that’s fine,” he continued. “But how about our veterans? How about Medicaid programs that go to the state? You can’t balance the budget unless you address all of those, and I think they’re going to have a tough time defending the cuts that they’re going to have to make to those vital programs. We would welcome their pledge to protect Social Security, Medicare — I just don’t know that we can believe them.”
The White House released a memo similarly asking McCarthy precisely what he plans to cut from the budget before authorizing a debt ceiling increase. It asked, “Will the speaker commit to the bedrock principle that the United States will never default on its financial obligations?” and “When will Speaker McCarthy and House Republicans release their budget?”
McCarthy responded to the memo by saying he’s not “interested in political games.”
Over the weekend, he argued the cuts are necessary to address the country’s mounting debts. “I want to find a reasonable and responsible way that we can lift the debt ceiling and take control of this runaway spending,” he said on CBS’s Face the Nation.
The Treasury Department announced earlier this month that it would enact “extraordinary measures” to keep up payments after the debt limit of $31 trillion was reached. The measures will run out in early June.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
McCarthy’s negotiations for votes in the speaker’s race with the conservative faction of his party included a deal to pair increases in the debt limit with spending cuts, though typically, Congress signs off on increases without any cuts to spending.
The move sets up a fiscal showdown between the Democratic-controlled Senate and White House and the Republican-led House of Representatives.
