House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is vowing to stand against President Joe Biden's pursuit of raising the debt ceiling without debate, warning against the status quo on government spending.
"We are six months away, approximately, and I would like to sit down with all the leaders and especially the president and start having discussions," McCarthy told reporters Tuesday. "I think it's a sign of arrogance to say he wouldn't even discuss it.
"Think about what the Democrats have done just in the four years. They've increased discretionary spending by 30%. When Republicans were in the majority for those eight years discretionary spending didn't go up $1. And we know where we're sitting at, almost $32 trillion in debt.
"How can you do this to a future generation? In anything we do, why wouldn't you sit down and talk? And especially as something as serious as debt and as serious as a debit limit. Why would you want to wait until the end?"
McCarthy said any household that wanted to manage spending would have a budget.
"Why wouldn't we want the House and Senate to do a budget?" he said.
When asked about House GOP hopes to break up spending priorities and whether a "clean debt ceiling" was off the table, McCarthy replied, "I don't see why you would continue the past behavior."
Doing just one omnibus spending package again?
"Yes, that's totally off the table," he said. "Who wants to put the nation through some type of threat at the last minute with the debt ceiling? Nobody wants to do that. Let's change our behavior now."
McCarthy vowed to keep Medicare and Social Security entitlements intact, but he warned they are at risk under Democrats' runaway spending.
"Let's sit down and find a place where we can protect Medicare and Social Security for the future generations, let's put our house in order in how we are going to spend — and let's make the investments we need to make America stronger," McCarthy said.
The White House does not like the House GOP plan to pay some U.S. debts as they come due but not others, calling it a "recipe for economic catastrophe" that threatens the global economy.
House Republicans are planning to move a "debt prioritization" measure by the end of March that would call on the U.S. Treasury to continue making only some payments when it reaches the debt ceiling.
"This is not a plan, it is a recipe for economic catastrophe," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. Their brinksmanship "threatens the global economy," she said, and would cut payments for border security, food safety, and other necessary government activities.
"This should not be a political football, and we should do it without conditions," Jean-Pierre said.