In a sharp reversal from what the White House was saying just a day prior, President Joe Biden indicated on Wednesday that he was willing to negotiate spending cuts in order to secure a debt ceiling increase.
That comes after weeks of insistence that he wouldn’t negotiate, even after House Republicans led by Speaker Kevin McCarthy passed a bill that would avoid a default (Townhall).
Speaking to reporters after an event in New York Wednesday afternoon, President Joe Biden indicated he’s willing to push aside his demands for a “clean” debt ceiling increase and negotiate spending cuts with lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
“Do you feel more optimistic about a deal today that you did yesterday?” a reporter asked.
“Sure,” Biden responded, adding that he wants to look at specific spending cuts Democrats and Republicans can agree on.
The President also said would [sic] consider skipping his planned trip to the G7 next week in Japan in order to get a deal done. He met with congressional leadership, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, at the White House Tuesday afternoon. Little movement came out of that meeting.
The caveat here is obvious. There is a long history of Biden saying something only to have the White House contradict him. In fact, that happened again just recently after the president announced a “major press conference,” only to have his comms staff correct him hours later.
Will that happen here? It’s impossible to say. Still, if Biden is actually returning to some semblance of sanity on the debt ceiling, that’s good news for the country. At this point, any deal that includes any concessions will be seen as a major win for McCarthy given the White House’s prior position of not negotiating.