House Budget chair: Biden ‘just making more excuses’ not to negotiate debt ceiling deal

House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) accused President Biden on Sunday of “just making more excuses” not to negotiate a deal on the debt ceiling.

“Now he’s, I believe, just making more excuses not to negotiate a responsible debt ceiling deal that will raise the debt ceiling, pay our bills, protect the good faith and credit of the United States, but also deal with the spending problem that’s driving the inflation crisis and some of the economic woes that we’re experiencing,” Arrington said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.

“I hope he changes his tune and I hope in his conversation with Speaker McCarthy that it’s more productive and more focused, again, on the one proposal that … Republicans put forward and passed out of the House,” he added.

Biden is scheduled to talk with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) over the phone on Sunday, as he flies back from the Group of Seven (G-7) summit in Japan.

Negotiations broke down on Saturday, as McCarthy accused the White House of “moving backwards.” The president similarly accused Republicans of refusing to “move from their extreme positions” on Sunday.

Lawmakers have less than two weeks before the U.S. could potentially default on its debt. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has repeatedly warned that this could occur as early as June 1. 

“We listened to Janet Yellen and her warning that we needed to move with urgency and purpose, and we did,” Arrington said on Sunday. “In the House, Republicans did it. The question is, will President Biden listen to Janet Yellen, his own secretary.”

“If we get close to the default date and if there’s any impact on the markets, it’s because this president and [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer has been more interested in posturing on the debt ceiling than rolling up their sleeves and working with Republicans to negotiate a final deal,” he added.