On 5/9/2023, Fox News correspondent Jacqui Heinrich asked Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, “Forty-three Republican senators signed on to a letter opposing raising the debt ceiling without budget reforms, and 217 members in the House voted for that bill to raise the debt limit with cuts to spending. Does the White House consider all of those members to be dangerous MAGA Republican extremists?

KJP: Do they understand what the cuts that they’re voting for is going to do? …

Reporter: (Inaudible) off — off the table. But —

KJP: Okay. But this not — this is not just — this is their constituents. This is what they voted for.

Reporter: And those constituents that they’re voting on behalf of have said that they are concerned about their retirements, about the effects of inflation. And those members represent more than half of the country in the House. I mean, those — that’s the majority of districts in the country that they’re voting on behalf of those constituents who are expressing concern about where the economy is.

So, I guess, how can the White House continue to use messaging in calling this the “Default on America Act” and — and paint this legislation in such a way without having a conversation about the budget when you’ve got half the country saying that they want that conversation?

KJP: So, House Republicans are threatening a first-ever default … because they want to hold the American economy hostage. Because that’s what they’re saying that they want to do by threatening — by threatening a default.

Reporter: Their bill would raise the debt limit. They passed a bill to raise the debt limit. So they’re — the conversation —

KJP: They’ve connect- — I hear you, but they are connecting passing whatever — this debt limit — to cuts: 22 percent cuts to veterans …

Reporter: The bill doesn’t have any appropriations in it, actually. And the — the Speaker has, you know, ruled out a number of those things, including defense, veterans’ benefits, senior entitlement programs. When you have Mitt Romney saying that there has to be a conversation here, is he a MAGA Republican extremist?

KJP: What I’m saying is House Republicans have been very clear. They voted on a bill that’s going to cut programs that are very important to American families …

Karine Jean-Pierre Can’t Even Say If Biden Supports ANY Kind Of Spending Caps
Reporter: as part of the debt limit talks, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce today called for an agreement that includes discretionary spending caps. Does the White House see all spending caps as a negative, or just the spending caps that are part of the House GOP bill?

KJP: So I’m going to be very clear here. The President is going to have a conversation with the four leaders, as you all know. That’s going to happen in a couple of hours, at 4:00 p.m. local time, clearly. And we’re going to stay focused on what Congress needs to be doing here — their congressional duty — which is to prevent a default. That’s what we’re going to be clear about.

Q: The Speaker says the President is ignoring the problem A: very clear, Super simple.
Reporter: Given the conversation that is happening today, that it is not negotiations, as you’ve made very clear, how is the President going into this? How is he viewing success in this meeting? What will he consider to be a successful meeting? Is it simply just conveying his message to them and having them receive it?

KJP: I mean, look, what we — what we convey as success — I mean, people have asked, “Well, will the President give — give Speaker McCarthy an off-ramp, an exit strategy?” The exit strategy is very clear: Do your job. Congress must act, prevent a default. That’s what a success … And that’s what he’s expecting from Congress.

Reporter: The Speaker says the President is ignoring the problem.

KJP: The President is not ignoring the problem. We have — the four leaders are going to be here today at four o’clock to have this conversation. The President is going to make himself very clear. The President has been clear since February … Super simple. They are — they are manufacturing — manufacturing a crisis.

Q: does Biden have any tools to use if Congress continues to not do its job? A: their constitutional duty
Reporter: And you’ve been talking today about two subjects where Congress hasn’t acted. One is immigration. And you’re saying you — we’ll use all the tools available to us because Congress refuses to act on the border. They also, so far, haven’t acted on the debt ceiling. So I guess I’m trying to figure out what will happen if they continue to not act and we get closer to the deadline, which could be enforced as early as June 1st or as late as August.

Will the President — does he think he has any tools to use if Congress continues to not do its job?

https://www.facebook.com/HygoNewsUSA/videos/262390202902608
GOPs represent more than half of the country not MAGA extremists, passed a bill to raise the debt limit