McCarthy says Biden is ‘afraid to even negotiate’ about budget, debt ceiling

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Sunday that President Biden is “afraid” to negotiate about the budget and debt ceiling, blaming him for the U.S. potential default on loans.

“And then he’s jeopardizing Medicare and Social Security, because, for the first time in a 10-year window, not just the Highway Trust Fund, but Medicare and Social Security becomes insolvent, so it automatically gets cut,” McCarthy told Fox’s Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures.”

“This rests upon his feet, not because he made a bad decision,” he continued. “The real decision is, he’s afraid to even negotiate.”

McCarthy introduced a budget plan to members of his party last week that would raise the debt ceiling by over $1 trillion but also return federal spending to 2022 levels and cap growth at 1 percent annually. If the U.S. fails to raise the debt ceiling, the country could risk default by June.

McCarthy and Biden met in February to discuss the debt ceiling, but have not had a meeting since. McCarthy blasted the president on Sunday over the paused negotiations, and said Republicans were the only one to put forward a plan.

When asked if he threatened to let the country default, McCarthy said that he did not.

“No, we’re the only ones in Washington that are actually putting a responsible plan out that will raise the debt limit,” he said. “Think about it. For more than 80 days it’s been since I sat down with the president on February 1 to negotiate, to work through this. And he’s ignored it.”

“I’m beginning to wonder about the words that he says and the thoughts that he’s using, because the idea that he won’t even negotiate for more than 80 days, he is now putting the country in default,” he said. “We are the only ones being responsible and sensible about this.”