FISM News

Biden, McCarthy to revive debt ceiling negotiations Monday

by Jacob Fuller

Willie R. Tubbs, FISM News

After several days of gridlock, a presidential visit to Japan, and a Senate recess, it appears Republicans and Democrats are ready to resume their talks about how to raise the national debt ceiling.

President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will meet Monday to discuss what, if any, concessions either side is willing to make.

Both sides say they want to cut federal spending, but Biden wants those cuts to come from defense and be coupled with a massive uptick in taxes collected. Republicans are more interested in defanging the Inflation Reduction Act, which is primarily a green energy, social justice, and tax collection act.

“I’ve done my part,” Biden told reporters in Japan Sunday.

We put forward a proposal that cuts spending by more than a trillion dollars, and on top of the nearly $3 trillion in deficit reduction that I previously proposed through the combination of spending cuts and new revenues. Now it’s time for the other side to move their — from their extreme positions, because much of what they’ve already proposed is simply, quite frankly, unacceptable.

Biden confirmed that he and McCarthy had spoken over the phone this weekend, a call McCarthy said was productive. However, on social media, the speaker couched previous conversations with the president in far less flattering terms.

“I literally asked the president: ‘What is the number? How much debt must America have before you say, ‘let’s stop borrowing from China?’” McCarthy tweeted.

BIDEN KEEPS 14TH ON THE TABLE

After weeks of urging from the left, Biden continues to mull the idea of invoking the 14th Amendment to bypass Congress on the debt ceiling. He has, though, concluded that he has the Constitutional authority to act in this way should he choose.

“I’m looking at the 14th Amendment as to whether or not we have the authority — I think we have the authority,” Biden said in Japan.

There is no consensus among legal scholars as to whether the 14th Amendment grants such power.

Democrats argue the language in the amendment which reads that the public debt “shall not be questioned” grants the president to act in order to avoid default, but Republicans argue the president is seeking to use a Civil War-related amendment to solve a 21st Century problem.

“That’s a provision that was put in place to say that we’re going to pay our Civil War debts,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said during an appearance on Fox. “It refers to the Civil War that we had just fought and paying those war debts off.”

Cruz, who called Biden’s 14th Amendment plan “legally frivolous,” said Biden’s approach to spending has taken him outside the will of even his own party.

“Biden’s idea of a clean debt ceiling is far outside of the mainstream,” Cruz tweeted. “[Fifty-eight percent] of Democrats think we should bring in spending to raise our debt ceiling.”

In all likelihood, Biden will not use the 14th Amendment to freeze out conservatives. Thanks to the urgent need for action – the White House warns the nation could default as soon as June 1 – the window for that tactic has likely passed.

Were Biden to invoke the 14th Amendment, an appeal would be certain to follow; and it is unlikely the legal challenges would play out in a speedy enough fashion to avoid the default.

Equally troubling for the Biden administration, the conservative-leaning Supreme Court could rule the move unconstitutional, which would land Bide the double-whammy of both presiding over a massive default and being forced back to the negotiating table with Republicans with the economy worsening by the day.

Biden acknowledged his timing problem Sunday.

“The question is, could it be done and invoked in time that it would not be appealed, and as a consequence past the date in question and still default on the debt,” Biden said. “That is a question that I think is unresolved.”

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