WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy worked furiously Tuesday to build support for a Republican plan that would demand strict limits to federal spending in return for agreeing to raise the nation’s debt limit and stave off an unprecedented U.S. default.
But President Joe Biden swiftly swatted down the plan, which would cap much federal spending at increases of 1% a year, as requiring “huge cuts” to programs helping millions of Americans.
It was just the latest in what is expected to be a protracted debate over how, when and even whether to raise the nation’s debt limit, now at $31 trillion, with default and a potentially devastating blow to the economy possible if Congress fails to act.
McCarthy is finding unusual support for his plan from his typically fractured House Republican majority, who view the proposal as a calling card to push Biden into negotiations. The White House has so far refused to engage in debt ceiling talks, doubtful McCarthy can unify Republicans and steer any proposal to passage.