Q: 60 votes in Senate? Biden clean bill solution is at odd? A: we call GOP bill Default on America Act
On 5/4/2023, a reporter asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, “Director Young said a moment ago that the math was the math when it comes to the — the debt ceiling issue. Does that apply to vote count as well? Because neither the House or the Senate have the requisite votes to pass a clean debt limit increase. So, the solution that the President is proposing is at odds with the current reality on the Hill. Does he need to adjust in order to get right with — with reality?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, Congress needs to act. Really. And when she says —
Reporter: But the votes don’t exist. I mean —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Wait. Hold on a second. When you say — when she said “the math is the math,” this is going to be catastrophic for American people. There’s a reason why we call the bill that House Republicans put together the Default on America Act, because it is …

Reporter: Do you have a solution that you can present next week that will get 60 votes in the Senate?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: The President is going to bring — bring the four leaders of the House and the Senate to the White House … This is their constitutional duty. He’s going to be incredibly clear on that, as he has been for months. For months, we’ve been very clear.

Q: will Biden say “We did everything in our power”? A: It is on them. This is so easy, not difficult
Reporter: you’ve said many times that it’s up to Congress to raise the debt ceiling. If that does not happen, will the White House and the President be confident in saying, “We did everything in our power to avoid it”?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I think the — the question is to Congress: Did they do what they were supposed to do to avoid it — their constitutional duty? It is — I get the question. And I understand he’s the President. And I understand why you all asked the question. But this is so easy. This is not difficult. It truly, truly is not … … it is on them. It is on them. I hope when Speaker McCarthy comes here next week, you all can ask him — ask him that question.

Q: lay out stakes for weeks & yet nothing has changed A: Jeffries, Schumer & Biden on same page
Reporter: You keep saying that the President next week, at this meeting with the congressional leaders, is going to lay out the consequences, outline why this is so important. You also noted, though, that you guys have been laying out the stakes for weeks, and yet nothing has changed. What makes the President think that getting in this room, laying out yet again what is at stake here is somehow going to suddenly change Republicans’ calculus?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, you know this President. He’s been the President. He’s been the Vice President. He’s been the senator. He’s been on the other side of Pennsylvania Avenue dealing with these types of issues. He knows these folks, right? He knows the — these leaders … we know that Leader Jeffries and we know that Leader Schumer and the President are on the same page. They have been on the same page for months. This is something that Congress needs to do. And we’ve been calling on Speaker McCarthy and House Republicans to do their jobs. So, look, they’re going to have a very frank and honest conversation. This is something that the President knows how to do and has done it in various positions. And so we’ll — we’ll see how it goes.

The meeting scheduled for Tuesday, which will also include Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), was solidified this week after the Treasury Department identified June 1 as a drop-dead date for the debt ceiling before the country defaults on trillions of dollars of loans.

Q: When the downgrade could happen, this month? A: Secretary will updated timeline
Reporter: Is there a timeframe where you see def- — the downgrade could happen? Are you looking at maybe the last week of May, this month, that there possibly could be a downgrade? Is there a date that you guys have identified where there could be a downgrade (inaudible)?

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Q: Biden clean bill solution is at odd 60 votes in Senate? “We did everything in our power”?