Hiroshima, Japan (CNN) President Joe Biden Congressional Republicans on Sunday issued a stark warning that they could use a national default to damage him politically and acknowledged that the time to use unilateral measures to raise the federal debt ceiling is over.
Characterizing the GOP proposals as “extreme” and warning that they will not garner enough support in Congress, Biden told fellow world leaders gathered in Japan that he could not promise seven talks without the US defaulting.
“I can’t guarantee they won’t force a default by doing something outrageous,” he said.
Biden’s comments before he left for Washington were the latest sign Negotiations between the White House and congressional Republicans will be distant.
He was expected to speak to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy by phone after taking off on Air Force One, but it was unclear whether that conversation would break the record.
“My guess is he’ll want to talk to me directly about making sure we’re all on the same page,” he said.
Republicans are seeking spending cuts in the federal budget in exchange for their support for raising the nation’s debt ceiling. On Sunday, Biden acknowledged “significant” differences with Republicans in some quarters, insisting that while he is open to cutting spending, revenue is “not off the table” as part of a deal.
McCarthy disagreed with that characterization in an interview with Fox News late Sunday, saying Biden had previously told him that tax increases were “off the table” and that he would not agree to them.
“He’s bringing to the table what everybody said was off the table right now,” the California Republican said. “He seems to want to make a mistake more than he wants a deal.”
At his news conference, Biden said much of what Republicans have proposed is “simply, frankly, unacceptable.”
“It’s time for Republicans to accept that there is no bipartisan deal, only on their party terms. … They have to move, too,” the president said.
Pressed on whether he would be charged for a default scenario, Biden said based on what he offered, he should be innocent, but conceded that “no one is innocent” as he suggested some of his political rivals might encourage a default. Sabotage his re-election bids.
“I think some MAGA Republicans in the House are aware of the damage to the economy, and because I’m the president, and a president is responsible for everything, Biden will take the blame, and that’s a way to ensure Biden doesn’t get re-elected,” he said.
McCarthy blamed what he called the “socialist faction of the Democratic Party” for driving Biden’s goals in the negotiations.
“President Bernie Sanders keeps changing positions every time he does a press conference. He reacts, he changes,” the speaker said when he arrived at the US capital in Washington on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Biden’s top national security aide told CNN that stalled debt ceiling and budget negotiations have not diminished American leadership abroad or undermined it as the G7 summit ended Sunday.
“When you look at the totality of the last three days, it’s really a reflection and an exclamation point on the way President Biden has led on the world stage. People understand democracy, and they understand that there are moments in domestic politics. When you look at the front page,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN’s Jake Tapper. State of the Union”.
Biden outlines flaws in 14th Amendment argument
Biden addressed the possibility at his news conference Using the 14th Amendment He has the power but no time to use unilateral action to keep the US government borrowing in the absence of a deal.
“I think we have the authority. The question is, can it be done and implemented in a timely manner, and it can’t — won’t be appealed?” Biden asked, calling the question of whether the appeal would be resolved before the default deadline “unsettled.”
Pressed by CNN’s Phil Mattingly to clarify whether he thought the 14th Amendment could be implemented as a serious and concrete option, the president made it clear that maneuvering would not succeed in the remaining short window.
“We’re not going to come up with a unilateral measure that’s going to be successful in two weeks or three weeks. That’s the problem. So that’s in the hands of the lawmakers. But my hope and intent is to solve this problem,” he said.
Republican Senate of Louisiana. Bill Cassidy said Sunday that the potential invocation of the 14th Amendment was a “dodge.”
“The president needs to show leadership. ‘Okay, House Republicans, the American people, you’re worried about spending, I’ll meet you there. As opposed to finding a dodge that’s trying to work its way through,'” Cassidy said.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that the US could default on its debts. June 1st soon.
Negotiations at an impasse in Washington
On Saturday afternoon, McCarthy said negotiators could not resume talks with the administration until Biden returned to Washington.
“Unfortunately, the White House has moved backwards,” he said. “I don’t think we can move forward until the president comes back.”
Biden had originally planned to stop in Australia and Papua New Guinea after the G7 summit in Hiroshima. He canceled those parts of the trip amid debt ceiling negotiations.
Biden asked his team to coordinate with the speaker to arrange a conversation on Sunday morning eastern time, which would be the first conversation between the two since debt negotiations stalled amid disputes over spending limits.
Republican Representative Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, who served as one of the chief negotiators during the debt ceiling talks, said Sunday that he had “no idea” that a deal could come together.
“I’ve been desperate for a while, something has to change,” he told CNN.
Earlier Saturday, South Dakota’s Republican Rep. Dusty Johnson confirmed that the White House offered an opportunity to limit future spending at current levels, which Johnson called “unfair.”
Johnson, a McCarthy ally and chairman of the centrist Main Street Caucus, was one of several key players briefed on the talks by Republican negotiators.
“Negotiations didn’t go well today,” Johnson said. “The paper issued by the White House is a huge step backwards. And it undermines all the progress that was made on Wednesday and Thursday. … It puts the negotiations in jeopardy.”
Johnson warned, “We are at risk of default.”
This story and topic have been updated with additional improvements.
CNN’s Morgan Rimmer, Christine Wilson, Sam Fossum, Haley Talbot and Melanie Sanona contributed to this report.
