President Biden might have been hoping veteran Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell would assist strain the House GOP to again away from calls for for spending cuts in change for lifting the nation’s borrowing restrict. But Mr. McConnell has signaled his alliance with the House Republicans on spending reductions in a brand new letter forward of Monday’s White House debt ceiling talks.
Mr. McConnell, the minority chief from Kentucky, has added his identify to a GOP letter despatched to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer that warns Senate Republicans are “united behind the House Republican Conference in support of spending cuts and structural budget reform as a starting point for negotiations on the debt ceiling.”
The letter was first reported by The Hill and is signed by greater than 40 GOP Senators.
A Republican supply confirmed to The Washington Times that Mr. McConnell added his identify to the letter, considerably bolstering its significance.
The letter and McConnell’s signature on it ship a powerful sign to Democrats and President Biden forward of Monday’s debt ceiling talks that the Senate GOP received’t again a invoice that merely raises the borrowing restrict with out spending cuts.
President Biden is scheduled to fulfill Monday with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to debate the debt restrict and Mr. McConnell, who initially deliberate to remain out of the talks, was invited to the assembly as effectively and plans to attend.
Democrats view Mr. McConnell as a veteran negotiator who has minimize offers up to now with Democrats and Mr. Biden on debt ceiling laws and has proven a willingness to compromise. But this time he’s siding with the GOP-led House, which handed a debt ceiling invoice that raises the borrowing restrict however consists of spending reductions and different fiscal reforms.
Mr. Biden, Mr. McConnell mentioned, should strike a take care of Mr. McCarthy so as go a invoice in each chambers. While Democrats management the Senate, most laws, together with a debt ceiling invoice, requires the help of no less than 9 Republicans to advance if each Democrat is voting.
“Speaker McCarthy and House Republicans are the only people in Washington who have actually passed legislation to avoid default,” Mr. McConnell mentioned. “Whatever President Biden and Speaker McCarthy can both agree to will pass the Senate easily. Any bill that doesn’t meet that description appears to have no chance.”
Mr. Biden will sit down with Congressional leaders days after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned the federal authorities would run out of cash to pay the nation’s payments as early as June 1 except Congress acts to boost the borrowing restrict.
Democrats argue there ought to be no negotiations to boost the debt restrict, now capped at $31.4 trillion, as a result of the cash is used to pay for previous spending.
They are calling on Republicans to comply with go a invoice to boost the borrowing restrict with no spending reforms hooked up and say the House GOP laws would minimize very important applications and companies, together with well being care and public security.
“They’re trying to hold the debt hostage to us to agree to some draconian cuts, magnificently difficult and damaging cuts,” Mr. Biden mentioned Friday.
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