Karine Jean-Pierre: No Plan For Biden To Sit Down And Speak To Republican Leadership Over Debt Limit
On 4/24/2023, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan held a news briefing.
The White House continues to insist it will not negotiate with House Republicans over the debt ceiling. “The House Republican position is, unless the president and the Senate agree to their entire agenda, they are going to default and crash the economy,” Jean-Pierre said. “And that is dangerous.” Jean-Pierre later described the House Republican proposal as “cruel.”
McCarthy released his long-awaited debt ceiling legislation last Wednesday, proposing to raise the debt ceiling over the next year either by $1.5 trillion or until March 31, 2024, whichever comes first. But the White House quickly dismissed it as dangerous, something Jean-Pierre repeated. “We have been very clear,” she said. “There will not be any negotiation around the debt ceiling. This is something that is their constitutional duty to do. They’ve done it three times — you’ve heard me say it over and over again — three times during the last administration, and they should do it now.”
McCarthy met with Biden in January to begin negotiations on the debt ceiling, but that meeting ended without a binding agreement because the White House maintained it would not discuss federal spending until the borrowing limit was lifted. McCarthy said he has not spoken with Biden since that initial meeting, accusing the president of “bumbling his way into the first default in our nation’s history.”
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) unveiled a debt ceiling proposal last week, something President Joe Biden had repeatedly called for. But that won’t lead to a meeting, according to press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are set to enter the next stage of the debt ceiling standoff, with a key vote and fresh Treasury data that could raise the urgency for a deal.
The Treasury Department, based on fresh tax revenue data, is set to release an updated estimate of the so-called “X date” when extraordinary measures are exhausted and the US can no longer meet its obligations. The new estimate is expected this week or next.
Karine Jean-Pierre: No Plan For Biden To Sit Down And Speak To Republican Leadership Over Debt Limit
Reporter: … sit down with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy now that he has released his — the outlines of his plan on the debt limit. Why is — is now the time for the President to actually speak to the Speaker and begin substantive negotiations?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So here’s the thing, Zeke — (laughs) — I tried to — Look, we’ve been very clear. We’re not going to negotiate over — over avoiding default. We’ve been very clear about that.
… But what they have done is they have put those two things together — the de- — the debt ceiling and spending cuts. And we have always been very clear, Zeke — we have been very, very clear — we are not going to negotiate when it comes to the full faith and credit of this nation. And they are holding that hostage currently. They’re holding the economy hostage.
And so, look, they have to — they have to — we’re not negotiating over — over that. And they have to avoid default.
Reporter: So what do they need to do — what does the Speaker need to do?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: It’s very clear. They — it’s very clear. They need to — they need to make sure that we’re not …
Jake Sullivan Ironically Declares “Americans Are Free People. We Cannot Dictate Where They Travel”
Reporter: You said from podium that the U.S. government has been telling Americans not to go to Sudan for more than a decade, it’s not sa- — and if they’re there, to leave.
Obviously, that message has had limited impact, because there are thousands of Americans who were living in Sudan when this fighting broke out. Is there more that needs to be done for Americans in countries where you think they should not be to drive home that message in a more direct way so that they’re not in harm’s way when danger erupts?
MR. SULLIVAN: Look, Americans are free people. We cannot dictate where they travel, tell them they must go or not go to a particular place …
NSA Jake Sullivan Says U.S. Embassy Evacuations Aren’t Unusual: “Happens From Time To Time”
Reporter: You say the U.S. has temporarily pulled out of Sudan and will return when it’s safe to do so … I’m curious if you’d respond to the charges over the weekend that, in essence, the Biden administration now has lost two U.S. embassies during the President’s term.
MR. SULLIVAN: … I’m not sure what you mean by a charge about quote, unquote, “losing embassies.” The broader diplomatic community, including the entire United Nations community in Khartoum, has closed down in Sudan. Diplomatic personnel from allies and partners around the world are being evacuated. And of course, the United States has evacuated its personnel. This happens from time to time. And if you look back over the course of months and years, you see military-assisted departures from embassies. You see, in some cases, noncombatant evacuation operations …
Reporter: Senator Klobuchar on CNN yesterday said that President Biden should sit down and negotiate with the Speaker on the budget, but also made clear that the spending cuts, you know, should not be tied to the debt ceiling. And so, would President Biden sit down with McCarthy to debate, to negotiate their — their different budget proposals? Or where do — what is the position on meeting with him?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, we — I want to be very clear here … We have been very clear: There will not be any negotiation around de- — around the debt ceiling. Right? This is something that is their constitutional duty … we’ve been very, very clear: It is unreasonable to put forth what they did last week. It is cruel. That piece of legislation is cruel.
And so, they need to really make sure that they — that we don’t go into default. And that’s what they’re asking to do. They’re asking to hold our — hold our economy hostage and go into default. And that’s something that we’re going to continue to call out.
Reporter: Now, last week you didn’t seem to rule out the possibility, though, of President Biden sitting down with McCarthy at some point. Is that something you’re open to?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, again, House Republicans must avo- — avoid default. Been very clear. And that is within their power to do at any moment. That is within their power to do at any moment. And so, that’s what we’re expecting them to see. I think I have to wrap it up super quick, guys. Go ahead.
U.S. special operations forces carried out a precarious evacuation at the U.S. Embassy in Sudan on Sunday, sweeping in and out of the capital with helicopters on the ground for less than an hour. No shots were fired and no major casualties were reported.
Sullivan reiterated that the administration continues to look at “every conceivable option” to help Americans get out of Sudan but is not considering peacekeeping troops.
“It is not standard practice for the United States to send in the U.S. military” into warzones to extract American citizens, Sullivan said “We didn’t do it in Libya. We didn’t do it in Syria. We didn’t do it in Yemen, and no we didn’t do it in Ukraine. Afghanistan was a unique case involving the end of the 20-year war that the United States was centrally involved in.”
An estimated 16,000 private U.S. citizens are registered with the embassy as being in Sudan. The figure is rough because not all Americans register with embassy or say when they depart.
Sullivan said the U.S. “will go to great lengths to support and facilitate” the departure of Americans but also noted that the State Department has been cautioning Americans in Sudan to leave the country for years.
He added, “Americans are free people. We cannot dictate where they travel, tell them they must go or not go to a particular place.”
Sullivan reiterated that the administration continues to look at “every conceivable option” to help Americans get out of Sudan but is not considering peacekeeping troops.
“It is not standard practice for the United States to send in the U.S. military” into warzones to extract American citizens, Sullivan said “We didn’t do it in Libya. We didn’t do it in Syria. We didn’t do it in Yemen, and no we didn’t do it in Ukraine. Afghanistan was a unique case involving the end of the 20-year war that the United States was centrally involved in.”
An estimated 16,000 private U.S. citizens are registered with the embassy as being in Sudan. The figure is rough because not all Americans register with embassy or say when they depart.
Sullivan said the U.S. “will go to great lengths to support and facilitate” the departure of Americans but also noted that the State Department has been cautioning Americans in Sudan to leave the country for years.
He added, “Americans are free people. We cannot dictate where they travel, tell them they must go or not go to a particular place.”
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WH: No Plan To Sit Down to Negotiate Debt Limit; Embassy Evacuations Aren’t Unusual, From Time To Time