On 2/1/2023, a reporter asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, “And then, on the debt itself, you said earlier that the difference between 2011 and now is the number of times that Republicans have been able to pass the debt limit on a clean basis without anything attached to it. But the other difference is that the national debt has more than doubled in that time. It now is about $240,000 per household. Does the President believe that that is sustainable?
KJP: Well, let’s — let’s remember why we have seen that the last couple of years, right? I mean, we’ve seen that the — it balloon in the way that you just spoke to. Let’s not forget the Trump tax cut …
Reporter: So will this administration pledge to be deficit neutral this year?
KJP: Look, what I can say is the President is committed to dealing with lowering the deficit. He — he has a record to — to speak to — as I just mentioned, the $1.7 billion that he has been able to do in the first two years to lower the deficit.
Reporter: Thank you, Karine. I have two questions on debt and deficit. First, the budget that the White House proposed last year represented 102 percent of the country’s economic output. Is the administration aiming for something below that this year?
KJP: I’m just not going to get ahead of the President’s budget that’s coming out on March 9th. You’ll be able to view that once he’s ready to speak to it.
Reporter: But directionally, where are discussions going?
KJP: No, I hear you. I hear you’re asking me for direction. You’re asking me what …
Reporter: Thank you. One more on the deficit reduction talks as it relates to the debt limit. So is the position of the White House that — you don’t want to negotiate, obviously, on the debt limit; that needs to happen — you say Congress needs to do that without conditions. So would that mean that any bipartisan proposal that the President agreed to as it relates to deficit reduction or debt reduction would have to happen after Congress raised the debt limit?
KJP: Well, I mean —
Reporter: I guess I’m just trying to figure out, sort of, the —
KJP: Yeah.
Reporter: — the process here. Like, what’s step one and what’s step two?
KJP: I don’t think there’s just one step. And the step is they need to live up to their congressional obligation.
there’s only one step here, and the one step is to do this without conditions.
Reporter: But the President has said, and you have said from this podium, that he is open to these negotiations and potential legislation — right? — on deficit and debt. Right?
KJP: When we’re talking about the national deficit, when we’re talking about lowering that, the President is willing to have good-faith conversation, which is something that he’s prioritized, right? We mentioned the $1.7 billion that he was able to lower the deficit
Reporter: On debt, would the President veto a bipartisan bill that included both spending cuts and a debt limit hike, similar to the 2011 compromise?
KJP: So, I’m not going to get — I’m certainly not going to — well, I’m glad you mentioned 2011, because I know I — there’s been a lot of reporting on that. And I just want to be very clear: In 2011, the Obama-Biden administration negotiated in good faith, but congressional Republicans’ recklessness caused a historic blow to our economy. That’s what we saw in 2011.
And that’s why when you look at how the administration — the Obama-Biden administration moved forward in 20- — 2013, in 2014, and 2015, they moved forward in a way to avoid unnecessary danger. They didn’t do that in those three — in those three consecutive years because of the bad faith that they saw in 2011 … it is their constitutional duty. They should be able to do this without conditions.
Reporter: I’m trying to address some market-related chatter as well as some of the beliefs of some members on Capitol Hill. Jay Powell was just asked about the debt ceiling. He said there’s only one option here; it’s for Congress to pass the increase. Is that the view of the White House — there was only one option; there are no prioritization off-ramps, comically-large coins to consider, anything like that? Congress is the only option here, in the view of the White House?
KJP: So, on any of the coins — and mint coins — I know that’s come up before. You know, that’s something that the Treasury deals with and answers on, so I’m not going to comment there. I think we’ve been very clear. I think we’ve been very clear from here that this should be done without conditions … And that’s how we see it. We see it as — as something that should not be done without conditions. It should be done without conditions, to be even clearer. And again, it is their constitutional obligation to get this done for — on behalf of the American people.
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Q: Debt limit difference 2011 debt doubled, Biden believe sustainable? Step 1 what’s step 2? A: Trump tax cut